Sacrifice
by DuckiePray
Summary: Seven weeks after "Bonds", a series of traumatic events test the strength of Donatello & Jenna's relationship, and question the real meaning of love and sacrifice. PS. You don't know what you're in for.
1. New York Bound

Jenna stared longingly out the window of the 757, just as she _had_ been doing for the last three hours. Why did it always seem that the cross-country portion of this trip seemed to take longer than crossing the ocean itself? She broke away from gazing at farmland for a second to glance over at Victoria, still asleep in the seat next to her.

_Good. She __deserves__ some rest. I can't believe they talked her into this at all - the funeral was __only__ six weeks ago._

Jenna slumped back against her own seat in somewhat despair, wishing again however faintly that this could all have been over six years ago, that it would have ended with her. Not that she had a true death wish mind you, but Michael didn't deserve this, and Victoria didn't deserve to _lose_ him like this. She found herself fighting tears again at that very moment, even thinking about the day.

She had literally no interest in the appeal that had been filed in the case of her kidnappers, had not even wanted to set foot back in another courtroom. Michael had gone alone, had wanted to see it through to the end of the case. When the motion for appeal had been denied, a single loyalist had taken out all of her frustration and rage outside the courtroom that day, and Michael had been the target of her hatred.

Jenna glanced down at the armrests of her seat, suddenly realizing she had been unconsciously clenching her fists so hard that they were physically changing color. With a sharp breath she released them, and closed her eyes for a few seconds. These last few weeks had been a complete blur. She had pushed aside a lot of her own emotion, in favor of keeping it together and strong for Victoria. But now that the funeral had passed and they were leaving Australia behind, it was hard to stay numb anymore.

She felt guilty for it, but part of her was deathly afraid of how coming to the states together with her Mom was going to impact her relationship with the guys. Jenna lightly fidgeted with the band of her ring, biting her lip in consternation, How much longer could she keep Donatello a secret? With Michael gone now, it made the thought of hiding from Victoria even more difficult. She loved him more than anything, but she also wanted to protect him, them, _everyone._

She was weighed down with the burden of supporting her adoptive mother, while not losing Donatello at the same time. Was it possible to juggle both things full time? Or was she going to be forced to make a choice, to finally decide between their world, or her own? She dropped her head in her hands, and finally cried.

* * *

Donatello was staring at a blank sheet in his notebook. He _had_ been staring at it for about ten minutes now, tapping his pen in a preoccupied way, that had finally gotten the better of Raphael.

"Hey genius, would you kill the motor? You're makin' _me_ nervous over here."

Donnie didn't respond to him, but did immediately quit the nervous twitch, settling back in the chair with a mighty sigh.

_I'm not gonna finish this at this rate anyway, _Raph thought to himself, and turned off the TV.

"Hey, whatsa matter with you? Your girl's coming to town, you should be bouncing off the walls, not down in the dumps." Raphael told his brother.

"I _am_ happy she's comin' Raph, it's just, I don't know what I'm gonna _say_ to her."

"Ya'll have talked about her dad haven't you?"

"I let _her_ talk. Face to face, it's gonna be different. And I have a feeling that our complicated situation is about to be kicked up to a whole new level."

"She's staying in New York Donnie! You guys won't be apart anymore. How is _that_ more complicated?"

"Because it _is_ Raph. Don't you get it? Jenna has her Mom to think about now, and they're _both_ grieving. She needs to have her feet planted on solid ground, not..."

"Not hanging out with you, is that what you were gonna say?"

"I'm _saying_ she needs to concentrate on what's important, and I don't want to be a hindrance to that."

"So what are you gonna do, shove her off? 'Welcome back Jenna, sorry your Dad got murdered, but hey, I don't think you should come around anymore'?"

"Sheesh Raph, I'm just trying to make things simpler."

"You know what I think Donnie? I think that you're so scared of losing that girl, that you'd rather just push her away before you have the chance to."

* * *

When their plane landed around 7am, Victoria and Jenna made their way through JFK, a task that had become very familiar for the 23 year old. She'd graduated from NYU only a few months prior, and it had been one of the happiest moments of her life. Michael and Victoria were both there to support her, just as they had ever since she entered their home as a troubled teenager.

Jenna was interrupted mid-thought by a look from Victoria, and quickly forced a smile for the woman.

"Are you happy to be home?" Victoria asked her.

"_Home_." Jenna said wistfully. "I've been back and forth so much, I hardly know what that is anymore. But yeah, it is good to see New York again. Do you have to meet with anybody today?"

"Not on official business. I have a conference scheduled for 11am tomorrow, and then closed door sessions at the United Nations for the rest of the day I'm afraid. Have you made plans for meeting with Donnie yet?" Victoria asked coyly, and Jenna sighed inwardly. Her mother had to be dying to meet the secret object of her affections even more now that they were back in the states.

"Nothing definitive, I'm supposed to see him sometime tonight, but there isn't a rush."

_I don't want to leave you on your own, _She added ruefully, and Victoria seemed to pick up on what she was thinking.

"Jenna honey, you really don't need to babysit me. You've been separated for months, I know you must be desperate to see him."

"I'm alright Mom." She answered.

_I just want to make certain that you are too, _she finished silently.

"Seriously Jen, I'm going to be at the UN all day tomorrow. You should really reconnect, you don't want to sit around that building or this hotel all day. Go, _go_ and be with your friends."


	2. Welcome Home

As Jenna and Victoria rounded another corner with their luggage cart, they almost ran right into a couple of uniformed men, one of whom was holding a sign loudly proclaiming _Richards_. They seemed to recognize who Victoria was immediately, and quickly approached the pair of women.

"Welcome home Mrs. Ambassador. We've been instructed to take care of you from here, and drive you wherever you need to go." One of the men told her smartly. "Accomodations have already been prepared, and we can take you to your hotel right now. Is this everything that you brought?"

"Thank you, this is everything." Victoria told him, and the two took charge of the luggage, leaving the ladies to follow behind them to the car.

As they were heading outside, Victoria's cell rang, and she immediately paused on the curb to answer it while the men were loading their luggage.

"Uh huh. Yes, we landed just a few minutes ago. Your people found us, thank you for setting that up. Yes, we are rather tired, we'll be heading straight for the hotel. Tonight? Um, well...sure, I'd love to come. Yes, I'll invite her too. Where...oh okay, that would work well. Oh really? That's very kind of you to arrange. Yes. You can expect me tonight. Thank you Director, I'll see you there."

Jenna gave her the evil eye as she hung up the phone, and the two of them climbed into the car.

"_What _did you just let yourself get talked into Mom?"

"There's just a Ball tonight." Victoria said meekly.

"A what? Mother! We've barely been in the country for eight hours, and you've been roped into attending a _Ball_? C'mon, how can they even ask that of you?"

"It wasn't demanded sweetheart, it was an _invitation_. There will be a lot of people there that I'm going to have to associate with in the stateside system now."

"Why would they even think you'd want to come? Don't they have a_ clue _what's been going on?"

"It was a courtesy Jenna, that's why the Director called me himself. I'm not _expected_ to go, it's merely a way to welcome me into the next stage of where the government is taking me. They've set things up very conveniently, along with appointments at the salon on the hotel. They're even having clothes sent over to us."

"Us?"

"That is, if you _want_ to come Jen. The Director wanted to make sure you knew you were invited too. No pressure from me darlin', you really don't need to be there."

"Do you honestly think I'm going to send you off to the vultures alone?"

"Honestly, they're not all that bad."

"No, some of them are _worse_." Jenna said morosely. "If you're going, I'm going."

"Jenna, I don't want you to come to this thing just because you think you have to look after me."

"Sure, that's not the only reason." Jenna lied through her teeth. "It could be fun, right? A little mother/daughter bonding? All I can say is that we'd better hit the hay the second we get to the room, or we'll be the walking dead tonight."

"You would know wouldn't you, 'little Miss Jet Lag Professional'?"

* * *

Donatello had retreated from doing nothing in the Den, to walking aimlessly around underground. He was still trying to figure out the right thing to say to Jenna when he saw her, and Raphael's words were still lingering in the back of his mind. His brother was right. Deep down, he'd never believed that his relationship with Jenna could last indefinitely. He had come to feel like he was merely biding his time, before it would _have_ to be over.

Not that it was what he wanted - nothing could be further from the truth. It was simply facing facts as far as he was concerned. They belonged to two different worlds. There was no possible way that he could live inside of hers, and he wasn't willing to let her sacrifice her own life just for him.

His phone interrupted him mid-thought, and he looked down to see that it was Jenna.

"Hey babe." He put on a much happier voice than he really felt.

"Hey yourself. How are y' doin'?"

"I'm great." He lied. "Can't wait to see you. I take it you landed okay."

"Yeah, we're on our way to the hotel."

"You must be beat."

"We sure are. Okay so listen, apparently there's some big hoopla event going on at the Falcon tonight, and I guess my Mom and I are going. It starts at 8, but I thought maybe you could still come around tonight? I really want to see you."

"Sure, I could just get myself over in that general vicinity. What time?"

"Say 11. I'll call you with specifics before then."

"Okay, I'll be there. Are you doing okay?"

"Sort of, got a lot on my mind, you know? My Mom's gonna be in meetings at the UN all day tomorrow, do you mind if I come down and crash?"

"You're welcome to crash _anytime, _the guys are all excited to see you too. Hey, is this event for the whole UN delegation?"

"I think that's the whole point of it. Why? You wanna come, be my date?"

He laughed at the thought. "It's just, I think April's gonna be there. I'm pretty sure she's covering something over at the Gold Falcon tonight."

"I can't say as anything else worth mentioning could be going on. I'll have to try and look for her."

"Do that...and call me when you can, okay? Get some sleep first."

"You _know_ I'll do that. Well, we just pulled up to the hotel. I'll call you later, I love you."

"I love you too." He said a little more strained than normal, and hung up.

* * *

Donatello trudged home after hanging up with her. All this thinking wasn't getting him anywhere, he was tired of it, _and_ he was getting hungry. When he got back to the Den, the first thing he saw was Luke sitting on the couch, finishing off some pancakes.

"Hey Doc. You out of food again, or did you just miss us?" He asked good-naturedly.

"If I could cook half as well as that brother of yours, I might actually _keep_ some food in the house from time to time." Luke said with a grin.

"Doc, what ya _need_ is a woman." Raphael piped up from the chair.

"Do you know any?" Luke asked with a laugh.

"Well hang on, there _was_ this chick I rescued off of Broad street the other night...wait, no, she was a hooker."

"I'm not sure I wanna hear where this is going." Donatello said with a laugh as Doc threw a couch cushion at his brother.

Mike ducked out of the kitchen when he heard his voice.

"_There_ you are. Where'd you go hide?" Mike asked him.

"I was just takin' a walk."

"You were _gone_ long enough. I barely managed to fend off a few pancakes from those two." Mike said, jerking a hand back towards Luke and Raphael.

"I'm glad you did, because I'm starving."

"Figured you'd be back when you got hungry. Take a load off, I've got some fresh sausage about to be done too."

As Donatello sat down next to Luke on the couch, Leonardo came up through the hallway, from the direction of Master Splinter's quarters.

"Hey." Donnie said as Leo sat down across from them. "How's Sensei this morning?"

"Tired." Leo said, sounding a little weary himself.


	3. Prince Charming

Jenna was not at all sorry to break away from the festivites later that night. She'd already told Victoria she would be gone for awhile, and was now making good on her escape. She was so intent on merely getting out of the hotel, that she didn't notice she was being followed until just after crossing out the door.

"Hey - where you going Jenny?" Someone called after her, and she rolled her eyes. Without turning around, she already knew who it was.

_Bring on the vultures._

"The name is Jenna, William. _Jenna, _now say it with me. What are you doing out here?"

"When the best looking girl leaves a party, a guy tends to notice. What I can't figure out is why you've been avoiding that dance with me all night."

"And what _I_ can't get figure out is why you won't get my name right, after knowing me for five _years_. I can add a 'y' to your name too, do you want me to call you _Willy_?"

"No one's called me _that_ since I was five."

"That's all very interesting, but I need to go now."

"Where do you have to be? The night is young."

"I'm tired William - my Mom and I _did_ just get into the states."

"Oh yeah, your Mom. She was looking pretty_ fine _tonight too."

"Say _one_ more word about her, and I'll knock you upside your fool head!" Jenna said angrily.

"Just an observation, we don't need to talk about her." William said maddeningly. "We don't need to_ talk _at all. You wanna go? Let's get out of here already."

"For the twelfth time William - I _have_ a boyfriend!"

"Yeah, you've always said that, but I have yet to see the guy. You never bring him around to this stuff, why is that?"

"None of your _business_, that's why! What do you care for anyway?"

"I just wanna see how big he is, figure out if I can take him."

Jenna actually laughed at that statement. "For your own sake, you had better pray to God that you never meet him William. Now get lost, I already told you I'm not interested. I'm sure there's at least a dozen other girls getting drunk upstairs as we speak, you're missing out on all that action."

He made a face that looked something like a pout, and then waved her off with a grin. "See ya later Jenny."

She watched him walk back inside, her blood near a boiling point. Someday...someday she was finally going to lose it with that guy.

*****

She went around the corner into an alley, and as soon as she was under the cover of darkness, heard a low whistle. She turned around one more time for good measure to make _sure_ she was alone, and then returned the signal. A couple of seconds later, a familiar form matieralized out of the shadows, coming swiftly to meet her.

"Oh Donnie." She said with a tremendous sigh of relief, embracing him fiercely. "I think that might 'ave been the longest three hours of my life."

"Was it that bad in there?" He said with a half smile.

"It was alright I suppose, I just didn't want to be there."

"Hang on a second, I need a better look at you." He said, pulling her out of the darkness a little closer to the street light.

Jenna was wearing a one shouldered coral colored chiffon gown, that looked almost iridescent. Her raven hair was swept back off her neck, held in place by a crystal studded band that glistened in the light.

"Wow, you look incredible." Donnie told her.

"I'm glad _you_ like it - I feel like a peacock."

"Actually, I think the male peacocks are the colorful ones. In the bird kingdom things--"

She leaned into his levels and didn't let him finish, cutting him off with a lingering kiss.

"It's just a figure of speech." She said lightly, but his expression was anything but relaxed.

They walked back further into darkness to be safe, and Donnie spread out his cloak for on top of a couple of crates so she could sit down.

"How are you _doing_ Jen?"

"I'm not sure. It was easier before, when so much was happening all at once, and I didn't have time to think or feel. As much as I miss him, and would do almost anything to have him back, I feel worse for Victoria. I can't stand seeing her alone like this Donnie, it tears me up something fierce. You've no idea the things that have gone through my head, that I don't even want to repeat. I keep thinking about six years ago Donnie, when it all started. I find myself wishing that they would have finished it then, and none of this would have happened."

"You wish they'd killed _you_, you mean?"

"Sometimes, yes, I do. Victoria and Michael would still have each other, and I wouldn't be any the wiser."

Donnie looked away from her for a second. "I wish I knew what to say to you. I'm sorry this happened. I'm sorry you have to feel this way, and deal with thoughts like that."

"There's no _right_ thing you can say Donnie. Just be here, okay?" She said quietly, and he held her for a long moment, as she leaned against him for support. "This is _all_ I've been longing for." Then she actually smiled a little bit. "I saw April and Marc in there."

"Were they having a good time?"

"Yeah, it's still funny to see them together like that, even though it's been a year. I can see they're quite happy, though I have to admit I still wonder about Luke sometimes."

"Don't worry about Doc, you know the two of them were always platonic. And they really haven't been leaving him in the cold either, we're all one big happy family."

"Don't you ever think he gets lonely?"

"Yes," Donnie said evenly. "But no amount of prodding on our part does any good. He _says_ he's happy, and I believe him. I'm just not sure he knows how much happier he _could_ be."

"It's a pity, what with the shortage of good men in this world. He could make someone _else_ very happy too."

"Speaking of _men_, who was Romeo out here earlier?"

"Who?"

"The guy who followed you outside. _He _seemed charming."

"Charming like a cobra." Jenna said distastefully. "He's just the idiot son of some guy my parents' used to work with, I run into him a couple of times a year at these things. He's nothing to be concerned about."

"What's his deal anyway, he can't remember your name?"

"He does that on purpose, just to annoy me. But why are we talking about him? He's not even worth the breath we're wasting."

"Oh it's just...it's nothing."

Jenna peered at him curiously. "No, it _isn't_ nothing. What are you thinking right now Donnie?"

"No, I'm not thinking, I'm just...um..."

"Why are you so nervous all of the sudden? What's wrong, did he bother you? I told you, he's _nothing_ to me."

"I'm not thinking of him specifically, just, in general. You're an incredible woman, and anyone would be lucky to have you."

"Where are you going with this?"

"Do I have to be going somewhere?"

"No, but you _are_, I can tell."

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't get into this right now. I really do think too much."

Jenna looked at him for another long moment, as if trying to read his mind. "What's the _subject_ of your thinking?"

"You." He said simply. "How difficult these next few months are going to be. I just wish that I could make things easier for you."

"Easier?" She echoed, and then sighed deeply. She'd heard this speech before. "Donnie, after all we've been through, after all this time...I just don't understand. _Why_ can't you look me in the eye, and believe that you're the only one for me?"

He broke her gaze, and stared at the ground without speaking for a few seconds. "You have _no_ idea how hard this is for me."

"I have no idea how hard this is for you?" She said incredulously. "I guess I wouldn't, huh? After all, _I'm_ just the one who's been practically living a double life, torn across two different continents for the last five years! Having to keep everything secret, hiding from the only other two people in the world who've ever meant scrap to me. I'm sorry I didn't realize how hard this is for _you_."

He didn't say anything, so Jenna simply shook her head, and went on.

"Y'know what, I'm sick of this. I've heard it all before, and I'm _not_ doing it right now. Have a great night." She finished, and stalked out of the alley.


	4. Mediator

Jenna woke up the next morning, around the same time that Victoria was getting ready to leave.

"Hey honey, sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."

"It's alright, I wanna get up anyway. Mom, do you care if I tag along with you today?"

"To the UN? Jen, there won't be anything for you to do there! I'll be in meetings. What do you want to sit around that place for?"

"I haven't got much else better to do." Jenna muttered, glancing down to turn back on her cell phone. Four missed calls. She'd gotten tired of ignoring it the night before, and finally shut it off completely.

"Are you sure you don't want to talk about what happened last night babe? I know you were upset."

"It's sort of complicated Mom." Jenna replied, sitting up on the side of the bed.

"This has to do with Donnie. Did you have a fight?"

"Kind of. Basically I just got mad at him, and stormed off."

"What happened Jen?"

"Ah Mom, he was just trying to push me away again, and I couldn't take it last night."

"Why does he do that?"

"He thinks he's doing what's 'best' for me."

* * *

Leonardo walked past the practice room around 10am, stopping for a second to glance at a very worked up Donatello. Then he continued into the Den, and found Mike half-heartedly watching TV, barely even looking at the screen.

"Hey bro." Leo said. "What's up with Donnie?"

"I don't know, he wouldn't talk to me. Somethin' must have gone wrong with him and Jenna."

Raphael was just returning down the hall with an empty mug in hand, and stopped behind the couch.

"Sensei's a little more talkative today. He did actually manage to get all of his tea down though." Raphael remarked, and then glanced down towards the practice room. "Is he _still _goin' at it? It's been like two and a half hours!"

"You know what? I'm calling Jenna." Mike said finally, snapping open his cell phone.

She answered on the fourth ring. "May I help you?" She said, none too pleasantly.

"Jenna, hey, it's Mike. So listen, Donnie's acting really weird down here. What's going on, can you talk to him?"

"I'm having a particularly wonderful day sitting at the United Nations Mike. I don't have the stamina to fend off the same old talk right now. You tell him he can call me,_ if _he wants to make this work. If he wants out, tell him not to bother calling at all. I don't _need_ to be let down easy."

She hung up, and Mike sighed. "Sounds like they had a fight. I guess I gotta go talk to him."

Both brothers followed him to the doorway, where all three peered in at Donatello's violent assault on the punching bag.

"Are you sure you wanna mess with that?" Raph hissed.

"_Somebody_ has to. Wait here." Mike said, and walked into the room. "Donnie? Hey, I think we need to talk."

"Not _now _Mikey." He said, breathing hard.

"Do you have a clue how long you've been doing this?"

"I said NOT NOW!"

Mike gazed at him for a moment, shaking his head when he saw his brother's bleeding knuckles. Without another word he grabbed Donatello's shoulders from behind, mustering every ounce of force to hold him against the wall as he struggled.

"Let me GO!"

"_No_ Donnie, not until you talk to me."

"There's nothing to talk about!"

"Clearly these _is_. C'mon, quit fighting me, can't you see you're bleeding?"

Donatello went limp suddenly, resting his forehead against the wall.

"I messed up Mike. I messed up, and I don't know if I can fix it."

"Donnie, you need to talk to her."

"Why didn't I think of that? Because she won't answer her phone!"

"She _wants_ to talk to you Donnie, she just doesn't want you to break up with her! You can fix this!"

"I don't know if I _should_ fix it." He finally admitted, as his other two brothers came into the room.

"Man Donnie, if you were gettin' sick of Jenna, you should have told us a long time ago. Any of us would have loved to have had a go at her." Raph said evenly, and Leonardo had to physically leap between the two of them to hold Donatello back.

"Easy Donnie, I'm just trying to make a point." Raph said, trying to soothe his furious brother.

"_What_ point? That I need to kick your shell?" He snarled, struggling fiercely to get out of Leonardo's grasp.

"_No_, I'm trying to prove that you still love her, and those feelings aren't just gonna disappear." Raph told him.

Donatello went still, his chest still heaving in frustration. "Don't you think I _know_ that? This isn't about _me_ or _my_ feelings. It's about her."

"Is this like that thing they talk about, when you love something you set it free?" Leo asked him.

"You think this is a _game_ to me? I'm not playing with her emotions! I'm trying to do what's right for her!"

"Isn't that her choice to make Donnie?" Mike asked softly.

"No." He answered stoicly. "It's not her choice, because I'm not gonna _let_ her sacrifice everything."

* * *

Several hours passed slowly, and Donatello had retreated upstairs to the bedroom. Mike and the others didn't want to push him any further, so they simply let him be. It was a little after 6:30 when a rumbling seized the Den, the ceiling above them shaking hard. It didn't last very long, it just felt very odd.

"What was _that_?" Mike said breathlessly.

"It felt kind of like an earthquake, a little one maybe." Leo said calmly. "Everything looks okay in here...maybe we should look outside."

All three of them wandered out into the tunnel, looking around thoroughly, but nothing seemed unusual. They certainly weren't dealing with any cave-ins, so they simply returned to the Den about fifteen minutes later.

"I'm gonna go check on Sensei." Leo said, quickly ducking down the hall. As soon as he opened the door of his room, he found Master Splinter absolutely engrossed with the televeision screen.

"Sensei, did you feel that? I think we might have had an earthquake."

"You haven't seen this?" Splinter asked swiftly. "Get the TV on, hurry my son, there's breaking news!"

"Is it about the earthquake?"

"It _wasn't_ an earthquake!"

Leo dashed back out into the living room, snatching the remote right out of Raphael's hand.

"Hey, I was gonna watch--"

"Never mind Raph, we need the news on now!"

"It was just a little shakin' Leo, it's not the end of the world!"

"It's the end of _someone's_ world." He retorted as he flipped it to a local station. "Now be quiet for a second!"

"Wait a minute Leo, where is that? Did the surface suffer a lot of damage?" Mike asked immediately.

"It was an _explosion_ guys, maybe several of them. It's the United Nations." Leo said tightly.

"It was _what_?" Mike cried, leaping to his feet. "DONNIE! Get down here right now!"

The urgency in his voice got a quick response from his brother.

"Guys, it's okay, that felt really minor." Donatello assured them as he came downstairs.

"No it's not okay Donnie, it's really not okay! Get over here!" Mike yelled to him.

Donatello barely saw the screen for more than a couple of seconds before his heart nearly stopped.

"_Oh my God_. Keep this on, keep listening to it for me!" He ordered his brothers, and ran into his Lab.

He tried calling Jenna first, and the phone rang and rang until voicemail picked up. He tried speed-dialing her again, even as he booted up the software on a computer. It returned to voicemail three successive times, and he dropped the phone in frustration. It rang almost immediately, and he hopefully snatched it up.

"Hello, Jenna?" He said breathlessly, without looking at the screen.

"No Don, it's Doc. Are you watching this? Do you know what's going on?"

"Yeah, yeah I know Doc! I'm trying not to panic here, Jenna and her Mom were over there Luke!"

"When did you talk to her last? It's getting later, maybe they _weren't_ there, maybe they'd left!"

Donatello didn't answer him right away, he was staring at the address that the location chip in Jenna's phone had returned to him.

"She's there Doc, or at least her phone is. She's _there_!"


	5. Alone in the Dark

Jenna's first sensation of coming around was someone's voice, a familiar voice calling her name. She stirred on the cold floor, opening light blue eyes very slowly. She took a deep breath, instantly choking on dust, the air was thick with it. Then she looked up, surprised to see emergency lights, shining down from the floor above her. _The floor above her_! Where ceiling should have been, she was now staring at a tremendous rupture.

"Jenna!"

The same voice that had called her back to reality sounded again, and this time she turned slightly toward the sound, sitting up somewhat painfully. Victoria was lying a couple of yards away from her, clearly trapped under some kind of ceiling mount.

"Mom! What...what happened?"

"I don't know baby, it sounded like...it sound like a bomb went off!"

"I don't remember hearing _anything_." Jenna murmured, raising a hand to clench her bleeding forehead. She worked her way up to her feet, gingerly testing her limbs as she did. She groaned softly when she tried to apply significant pressure to her left ankle. It was in bad shape. Heedless of the pain, she staggered across the floor to her mother, struggling over debris and ceiling tiles.

"Be careful Jen! I _know_ you're hurt!"

"I'm alright Mom." She said insistantly, bracing her shoulder against the beam on top of Victoria. "I think this will budge." She told her after testing her own weight against it. She lowered herself against the piece, pushing with all of her strength. She fought to keep her feet under her, continuing to shove until she felt it start to give, and then gravity took over, so that the beam rolled directly off of her.

Victoria let out a deep painful breath, her chest heaving for several seconds.

"How badly are you hurt Mom, what do you feel?"

"It landed right on my chest, it hurts to breathe. I never blacked out, but I couldn't move. I've just been waiting and hoping...calling you over and over. I was so worried about you. I'm still not sure if I can move, it feels like something is broken."

"Don't try Mom." Jenna said firmly, scanning her mother all over for injuries. She peered closely at her rib cage where clothing had been torn, not finding broken skin. But there was some very suspicious bruising, and Jenna knew all too well what that could mean.

"Mom, where is everybody? There were others still in this room, weren't there?"

"I yelled and yelled...couldn't get anyone to answer me." Victoria said breathlessly.

Jenna rose a little unsteadily. "Okay listen, I'm gonna look around a little bit, try to see if I can find anybody else, and see if there's a way out."

"_Please_ be careful honey."

Jenna limped, sometimes crawling over wreckage for a few minutes, searching for more signs of life in the darkness. She turned away from three different unmoving bodies that were buried, and obviously beyond her help. Hope rose within her when she heard someone coughing softly on the other end of the room, and she moved towards the sound as quickly as she was able. She had to dig through some debris to reach the body, this one doubled up in agony. When Jenna got down next to the person, she recognized her as the sixteen year old honey-blonde teenager she'd spent most of the day with.

"Carrie." Jenna said quietly. "Don't move. It's gonna be okay, you're gonna be okay."

She was violently coughing up blood now, and Jenna had to turn away for an instant at the sight of her injuries. Then with renewed resolve she took her new friend's hand in her own.

"Carrie, you have to hold on. I'm here, it's gonna be okay."

"No Jenna..." She rasped, a strange rattling quality taking over her breathing. "Please...tell my parents I love them."

"_You_ can tell them that Carrie."

"No...I can't..." She faltered with a strangled breath, barely forcing out the words at all. Her tormented body went suddenly still, sightless dark brown eyes staring into the abyss above them.

Jenna couldn't hold back a tremendous sob, clutching the young girl's hand for a moment longer. She ran a hand over Carrie's forehead, crying as she smoothed blood-matted blonde hair off of it. Slightly trembling, she fought to undo the clasp of a golden locket around the girl's neck, and put it in her pocket. It was the least she felt she could do.

"Jenna?" She heard her mother call after her, and she forced herself to get up.

"No one's here Mom - no one _alive_ anyway." She called back with a tremor.

"Jen, are you alright?"

"No Mom, I rather don't think I am." She answered flatly, and then turned her focus away from the bodies, to trying to locate a way out of this room.

Everything looked different than it had before, it was difficult to even discern one wall from another. She felt around a ways further, until she saw what looked like a little more light, coming from behind a whole mound of debris. Carefully she positioned her hands where it felt like it could be the most stable, and started to climb. She'd made it far enough to see part of a doorway beyond the wreckage, when it suddenly shifted underneath her, and she completely lost her grip. She tumbled backwards, struggling to grapple with anything to break her fall. She managed to straighten her legs out underneath her before she hit the floor, but then cried out as she heard a crack in her left ankle. It had been _hurting_ before - now it was definitely broken.

"Jenna!" She heard Victoria call after her again.

"I'm okay Mom." She called back a little wearily, stumbling to her knees to get off of her ankle. She crawled back to where she'd left her mother, breath coming in short gasps.

"What happened? Are you okay?"

"I fell. There's a big obstruction over the door - I don't know if we can get out of here!" She said honestly.

"You can get out Jenna, I know you can! You've got to try, you can't stay here!"

"Mom, I'm not _leaving_ you!"

"You might _have_ to Honey." Victoria was saying, as Jenna's phone suddenly rang. "I can't believe you've got a signal in here - it rang like four times while you were out too!"

Jenna had completely forgotten about her phone, and quickly pulled it out. The facing was cracked, but she had service alright, probably thanks to Donnie's special booster. She quickly answered it.

"Hello?"

"JENNA! You're alive!" A clearly terrified Donatello practically shouted on the other end.

"For the moment anyway. Donnie, we're trapped, my Mom and I, we're trapped!"

"Are you hurt?"

"Yes, though I don't think it's all that bad. I don't know about my Mom, she doesn't look good."

"Jenna, is your watch okay?"

"My watch?" She repeated, glancing down at the wrist band that Donatello had designed specifically for her. "Yes, it's fine."

"Turn it on! The beacon is a lot more powerful than the location chip in your cell phone!"

"Wait a minute, are you trying to find us?"

"Darn _right_ I am! C'mon Jen, turn it on!"

"I don't want anything to happen to you..." She said faintly.

"You can't stop me." He said plainly. "I don't know how long it's going to take, and I really don't know if we'll get another connection like this one, the cell circuits are jam packed full of calls!"

"Donnie what happened, what are they saying?"

"Looks like suicide bombers, they were captured on cameras outside the UN! They set off simultaneous explosions from inside of three different SUV's!"

"How much was destroyed? Are a lot of people dead?"

"I'm not really watchin' it Jen, I've been a little busy getting set up."

"Donnie, please..._please_ be careful. If you can't get through, don't push it, don't worry--"

"I'll _get_ through Jenna! You better prepare your Mom, because it looks like we're finally gonna meet."


	6. All for One

Donatello didn't want to hang up with her at all, but it would take considerably longer to finish getting ready if he kept her on the phone at the same time. He had already prepared a back-pack of basic medical supplies, when he resigned himself to the fact that he was going to have to go talk to his Sensei. He walked back through the hallway, slowly entering his Masters' quarters. Splinter immediately muted the TV when he walked in, looking up at him expectantly.

"Sensei, I _have_ to go. I have to at least_ try_." He said resolutely.

"I know that you do." He answered simply. "You have not come here for my permission, have you?"

"No, I really haven't. I just wanted to tell you, I...I don't know what's gonna happen. I don't know if I'll be able to reach them...I don't know if I'll get back out at _all_."

"Do not go in thinking like that Donatello. You are resourceful, and you are resilient. If anyone can reach them, it is _you_ my son. What about your brothers?"

"We haven't discussed it yet - but I really don't want them to be in there."

* * *

But his brothers weren't about to be so easily disuaded.

"Heck no Donnie, you _ain't_ going in there alone!" Raphael growled at his younger brother.

"Do you guys have any idea how dangerous it's going to be? There's no reason to risk _all_ of our shells on this!" Donatello argued.

"Oh_ yes _there is Donnie, even if it _weren't_ for Jenna. You being there is plenty reason enough. We're going in with you, and that's all there is to it!" Mike countered.

"Honestly Don, you know we'd just come in after you anyway. It's easier to help you if we don't have to hunt you down first." Leo added.

Donatello looked around the semi-circle at his brothers, seeing that they were clearly determined.

"Alright, listen up." He said firmly. "If you do this, if you're all insisting on coming with me, this is how it's gonna go down. _I'm_ in charge in there. You're gonna have to do what I say, when I say it. I don't want any arguments or questions. When I say go, you go, if I tell you to stop, you _stop_. If I tell you to be quiet, you shut your mouths and don't make a sound, is that clear?"

"Question - are we still allowed to breathe?" Mike asked with a raised hand.

"Not funny Mike, this is serious." Donnie said with a small scowl.

"Just tryin' to lighten you up a little bit."

"Get it out of your system _now_ Mikey, because when we get in there, there won't be anything to laugh about." Donnie said a little more quietly, and then addressed the group again. "I've already got some medical supplies together, but we're gonna need to take some tools in with us too, and I think we should use the body suits. They'll offer us a little more protection in the building, and make it less obvious _what_ we are if we run into anybody in there.

Right now I want you guys to go grab shovels, the pick axes, whatever you think you can carry on a harness, we've _got _to be hands free. I'm going back to the Lab to pack every single Oxi we've got, I'm sure we'll need them."

Everyone sprang into action, and as Donatello returned to his Lab, his phone rang. He instantly grabbed it.

"Donnie, hey, it's Doc, I've been trying to get you like crazy!"

"I'm surprised you were able to at all Doc - hardly anything's getting through on the cell circuits. I finally got through to Jenna, she and her Mom are together, both alive. She said she's minimally injured, but her Mom's probably critical. She turned on her watch for me."

"I picked up Marc okay? He and I are already over near the neighborhood of the disaster area."

"Are you trying to help with the effort?"

"We're getting in position to help _you_ Donnie, I _knew_ you'd be going in after them."

"Luke there is NO way you're going in that building, I'll hog-tie you myself first."

"I figured on that too - we just want to be set up to help with the ladies. I'm going to set my own watch now so you guys can find us before you go in, can't guarantee I'll be able to get through to you again."

"What does it look like over there Doc?"

"Like World War III just started. Marc and I are out of sight, positioned away from the emergency workers and the media. You guys seriously better hurry up, the more time passes, the harder it will be to get through there!"

"I know it! I'm gonna bring some walkies so we can stay in touch, I'll leave one with ya'll on the outside."

* * *

After saying good-byes to Sensei, they hurried to load up the van and make for the surface. Donatello gave the wheel over to Raphael, who immediately turned on the radio so he could try and steer away from traffic.

"From Doc's coordinates, it looks like they picked somewhere a bit out of the way, makes it easier to get through this junk." Donnie told him, and then started rattling off directions to his brother.

Other than that, no one said anything as he drove, and they started noticing structural damage and shattered windows on other buildings as they closed in on the radius of the UN. There was a literal sea of flashing lights, and no amount of television footage could have prepared anyone for the sight that now met their eyes in person. Half of the main building was completely gone, already engulfed in a crator.

They bypassed the front access, pulling off along the same side road the Docs had taken. It took several minutes to pick their way through debris, and everyone was relieved when they found Luke's Volvo. The men were already waiting out in front of the car, straightening up to attention as they pulled up. They piled out of the van already in protective suits, and Donnie passed out helmets to them, then making sure the tools were really secure. He adjusted his own earpiece, and then handed Luke over a radio.

"I'll be in contact throughout." Donnie assured him. "I brought every Oxi we had, smoke shouldn't be a problem."

"Try to avoid the _flames_." Luke said pointedly, his own chest suddenly feeling very tight. "And please try to come back _alive_, okay?"

Donnie nodded, and then glanced at his brothers. "You guys ready?"

They nodded in turn, while he pulled on his own pack, and adjusted his tracker. "I'm gonna keep a gauge on temperature readings with my scanner too Doc, hopefully we can avoid any flare-ups. If we don't come back--"

"Not what we want to hear right now." Luke interjected.

"If we _don't _come back, please take care of Sensei." Donatello finished.

"You know I would. But you_ better _come back!" Luke said forcefully.

"Donnie, when you find them, let us know of their conditions, so we can set up stuff to help them better on this end." Marcus spoke up.

"Sure, Doc, you brought your scanner didn't you?" Donnie asked.

"I've got it." He answered.

"I'll patch their info right through to it, as soon as I get physically in range of them." Donatello told them both.

"Please be careful." Marcus said evenly.

"We'll do our best." Leo answered for all of them.

"Time's wasting." Donnie said simply. "Let's get going."


	7. Out in the Open

Jenna had tied up a piece of torn fabric, trying to staunch the bleeding from her own forehead, and was also watching Victoria like a hawk.

"That was Donnie on the phone?" Victoria asked her weakly.

"He's coming after us Mom. I wasn't sure I wanted him to try it, but I also can't force him to stay put."

"How would he be able to find us?"

Jenna bent down to her level, showing her the band on her wrist. "You remember I told you that Donnie made this for me? It's got a homing beacon inside of it. When I turn it on it creates a signal that he can easily track."

"Why didn't we ever think of that? So am I going to meet your mystery man?"

"You're going to, but you've gotta stay awake for that, you understand? You have to stay with me."

Victoria had grown increasingly weaker and less talkative as the minutes had passed, her breathing sounding more strained than before.

"The important thing is, _you're_ getting out." Victoria said.

"No, the important thing is, we're _both_ getting out. I can't lose you like this Mom, do you hear me? You _have_ to hold on."

"Jen I'm sorry, I'm sorry I couldn't do more..."

"More than what Mom? You saved my life, or don't you remember? You took me in when no one else thought I was worth anything, believed in me when nobody else did. I _still_ need you Mom, so you can't give up, okay?"

"You're so strong Jenna, I know you'll make it."

"Stop talking like that! I won't _let_ you quit - you have to meet Donnie, right?"

"Yes...can you tell me about him now?"

"There's really a very good reason I never wanted to tell you or Dad about them, and it's not because I _wanted_ to keep it from you. I had to protect him, all of them, I didn't have a choice."

"And now?"

"He told me to prepare you, so that's what I'm going to do. They're vigilantes Mom, four brothers. They don't work for the government or some other secret organization. They work alone, fighting violent crime throughout New York, and trying to stay hidden at the same time. The trick with them...the trick is they're _not_ like us Mom, that is, they're not human."

"Wha...What do you mean?"

"They're a different breed altogether, a mutated form making up a very unique creature, that no one is supposed to know about. They're a lot like us in many ways, intelligent, compassionate, talented...extraordinarily physical. But they're very different from us in other ways. The thing is, it wasn't just for _their_ protection that I didn't want to tell you about it. I thought if you knew, there was a chance I wouldn't be allowed within ten yards of them again."

"Jenna, they saved your_ life_. You could have told us." Victoria said gently. "We wouldn't have judged them unfairly."

"Deep down I believed that was the case, but I couldn't take the chance."

"He's taking an awful risk coming here for us Jen. He must really love you very much."

"I always knew that he did. But you understand now, don't you, why this has always been so complicated? Why I couldn't say very much about them?"

"It does make a lot more sense baby. How did it happen, you and Donnie? I know you told me before, I just want to hear more."

"It just _happened_ Mom. Well, actually, if I'd left it up to him, it probably wouldn't have. It's hard to imagine how difficult it would have been for him to make the first move. Two days before you had our flight home scheduled six years ago, I just laid it all out for him, probably gave him the shock of his life. I've wanted to talk about this so many times with you, especially after Dad went. I've been so worried about coming back here..."

"With me you mean?"

"I didn't know how I could keep it from you anymore. Donnie must have been thinking along the same lines, I'm sure that's why he tried to push me away again last night."

"I wish you _would_ have told me Jenna. You shouldn't be forced to choose between us - you _don't_ have to. I would no sooner do anything to cut you off from them, than I would cut off my own hand. I would do anything for your darling, don't you understand that? I was offered positions all over this country, dream jobs. I _chose_ New York because I knew it would make you happy, that it was where you wanted to be...and I thought we could stay together." Victoria said, and the speech seemed to take a lot out of her.

"I _want_ to stay together Mom, so that's what you need to concentrate on right now. Don't stop fighting. I'm not gonna let you give up." Jenna repeated forcefully.

"Yes Jen, I'm trying..."

"That's all I ask." She replied, taking her hand firmly as Victoria released another shaky breath, trembling openly.

"I said I do anything Jenna...anything for you..."

"Don't talk anymore, alright? Just keep breathing, and I'll keep talking so that you stay awake."

Victoria's grip was cold and clammy in her own hand, and Jenna released her fingers to check her mother's pulse. It was rapid, slightly irregular. She'd had enough experience with the guy's medical emergencies to know what that could mean. She looked up at the ruptured ceiling, inwardly praying to God that they could get here in time.

Her own head was splitting, but it was a good distraction from her broken ankle. She was positive she couldn't make it very far on it, not with obstacles at every turn. Even if she was willing to leave her mother, the chances of her getting out alive were incredibly slim on her own.

She released a shaky breath, and turned her attention back to Victoria, forcing her voice to stay calm.

"Let me tell you about the first time I met Donnie Mom, it was honestly the last thing I expected at that moment..."


	8. Going In

It took some searching on the east flank of the main building before they were able to find a semi-passable way in. It still required quite a bit of a climb, but nothing trained ninjas couldn't manage. Donatello made his way carefully up the framing first, and when he made it to the blown out window, was almost immediately engulfed in white smoke. It was somewhat surprising, it didn't smell the way he'd expected it would. Swiftly he pulled out his scanner to test the temperature reading of the room. It was slightly elevated, but nowhere near the heat of a roaring fire. This could probably work. He turned on the light on his helmet and scanned the area slowly. The floor was mostly caved in - it would require a leap of a few feet to get to solid ground, or what _looked_ like solid ground.

Donatello turned back to look down at his brothers and explain the situation, before attempting the jump himself. He landed nimbly on both feet, and then yelled at them to follow. He moved further in to avoid creating more stress on the floor, and waited while they came up one by one. He shined his light in their direction so they would be able to find him easier, and in less than ten minutes, they were all together. Donnie immediately helped them set up their Oxi's for safe breathing.

"This makes me feel like a coal miner." Mike said with a slight smile, and Donnie lightly tapped him on the helmet.

"It's for your safety bro. The temp is up, but not indicating that we're near an open flame. I'll watch it, try to make sure we avoid the hot spots." Donnie told them.

"Where there's smoke, there's fire right?" Raphael asked.

"Oh there's definitely fire, but it doesn't travel as quickly as the smoke does. If we keep moving in the right direction, we may have a chance of avoiding it. Leo, will you bring up the rear for us? Everybody _watch_ it, okay? I've already seen sparks, there has to be a ton of damaged wiring. _Avoid_ it, keep your arms in at your side, and don't touch anything that you don't have to.

Also, keep it down for now, okay? Not sayin' you can't talk, but I really need to concentrate on several things at once. The more you guys can help me, the better." Donatello said.

"That's why we're here Donnie." Leo said quickly. "We'll keep our eyes open too, go on now, lead the way."

They took stairs wherever they could find them, but debris were making their progress slower than Donnie wanted. He was checking the temperature nearly every five minutes now, just to make sure that they didn't stumble unwittingly into something. As they came up another floor he had to duck under a few live wires, and quickly warned his brothers about them. There were places where the dense white smoke was thinner, but they left their Oxi's in place to be safe. As of yet they hadn't seen or heard from any of the living, though they had bypassed at least a couple that were already dead.

It made Donatello sick to see, cringing as he passed an otherwise beautiful African American woman, her body cruelly crushed under the weight of several tons.

_And yet __we're__ the monsters, _he thought bitterly.

As he tried to climb over her without looking more than he had to, he heard the distinct click of the radio.

"Yeah Doc, go ahead." He called back to Luke.

"Just making sure you're alive Donnie. What's your progress?"

"Uh..." He took a moment to study Jenna's coordinates on the tracker. "Little less than half way I think. We're doing alright, but I gotta say that the casualties are getting to me. I've never seen anything like this in my life."

"Been there, done that."

"You've been on disaster relief Doc?"

"Little thing called September 11th Donnie. I _still _have nightmares from that Tower."

"I'm glad we didn't let you come in with us."

"Did you have much trouble _making_ it in?"

"It was a bit complicated, we'll probably have to look for another way out with the girls, unless we're willing to _throw_ them out of the building. Hopefully we'll find something in the same general vicinity."

"Keep me posted, and stay on your guard with the fires."

"I am, believe me Doc. I'm watching the levels very closely."

He hung up with Luke a few moments later to return his concentration to the task at hand. All at once he heard a stumble behind him, and quickly spun around to see what had happened in the darkness.

"Guys?" He called with concern.

"It's okay Donnie!" Mike yelled back. "My big brother broke my fall. Sorry Leo."

"On your feet Mike, sure you're okay?" Donnie heard Leo asking him, and let out a soft sigh of relief.

"Be careful down there, huh?" Donatello reminded them, and then continued leading the train up the stairs.

When he took another temperature reading by the door at the next level, he sucked in a sharp breath.

"Oh _shoot_. Guys, we've gotta move, we've gotta move! This is just too hot for my liking. Let's take it up another level, and I wanna abandon this stairwell!" He called swiftly to them.

"Whatever you say Commander." Raphael said in all seriousness, and they shifted into high gear to make it to the next floor.

Donnie ended up not being comfortable with that one either, so they continued up another flight. On this one he was content to let them out into the hallway, and they were met by a fresh batch of smoke. They picked their way through the darkness, staying very close together now.

Raphael took Donnie's shoulder at one point, motioning towards a welcome sight in the distance.

"_Look_ Donnie, exit, exit!"

"I see it Raph, good call. We've got to keep climbing." He replied.

They all had to pause for a moment in their stride as the floor rocked beneath them, and they actually saw the walls shift. Hearts racing anew, no one dared to move, waiting to make sure the ceiling wasn't coming down right on top of them. A stray broken light sparked above them, shooting a shower of sparks that they all quickly ducked to avoid. As they rose, Mike still didn't move at once, openly trembling.

"Mikey it's alright," Donatello assured him, lightly pulling him upright by the arm. "_Little_ fire, it's a little fire. We're okay, you're okay, everything is okay."

"Yeah, little fire." He repeated breathlessly. "Sorry."

Donatello took another long sweep of the hall, and indicated that he was moving.

"I think we're stable. Let's go."

Raphael sent Mike ahead of him so that he would be inbetween him and Donnie, trying to make him feel a bit more comfortable.

"You still have a good fix on them Donnie?" Mike asked him.

"It's strong, and we're getting closer. Are you sure you're alright?"

"As long as we're together. I can tell you I wouldn't wanna be here alone." Mike answered. "What are we gonna do if we run into anybody _alive_?"

"Try to help as much as we can I suppose."

"It's been so quiet. I never expected it to feel this way." Mike said suddenly.

"Like what Mike?"

"You know, you see the disasters in movies, you hear explosions, screaming, things breakin'. I'd almost rather hear _that_ than nothing at all. This feels like...it feels like a _tomb_."

"I've been feeling something kinda similar. It _is_ too quiet." Donatello agreed. "Not that I really _want_ to hear any more explosions mind you." He finished with an actual smile.

"Yeah, that probably wouldn't be a good thing." His brother laughed.

They went back out to the new stair well, and started ascending once more, with Donnie going back to checking the temperature gauge again. But he could tell that they were closing in on the floor they really needed now, and it was spurring him on faster. His brothers kicked up the speed another notch to keep up with him. No one was talking now, they were utterly focused.

_Hold on Jenna, please just hold on, _Donatello thought desperately.


	9. Music & Memories

Jenna was getting wearier, but felt compelled to keep talking, to try and keep Victoria focused.

"Do you remember when we first met Mom?"

"Do I." She said dryly. "I have to admit that I was automatically intrigued because no one wanted to touch you."

"It was all I knew how to do at the time." Jenna said wistfully. "I didn't know how to protect myself, I just did the best I could."

"You certainly left an impression."

* * *

Eight Years Prior

* * *

Victoria wasn't sure what to expect when she'd volunteered for the summer music program. She'd been told from the start that it included several troubled youths in the Foster Care system, warned that it would be different from teaching normal students. She and Michael had wanted children of their own from the very beginning, but after years had passed, been forced to accept that they wouldn't be able to have them through natural means. They'd talked seriously about adopting, and since their work with the government already had them placed in Australia, that was where their search was destined to begin.

Victoria had really only been looking for Adoption _information_ when she'd heard about the music classes, and learned that they were shorthanded. Her own musical background made her a perfect candidate to fill one of the slots, though she had to admit she had no experience dealing with problem students. She'd been more than a little intimidated the first time that she saw Jenna, as a surly fourteen year old flouncing down the hall towards the main office. The look in her eyes was so dark that Victoria carefully avoided her, and almost hoped the girl would not come back.

But the next week she _was_ back, slipping into the room only a few seconds before the class was actually starting. Gone was the dark glare from before, replaced by an unemotional detatched gaze that was focused primarily on the floor. She didn't move as things got started, and children made for different instruments. Instead she stayed in her corner of the room, arms folded across her chest protectively. Victoria summoned what boldness she had to approach her, coming to sit in the chair next to her.

"Your name's Jenna, isn't it?" Victoria asked her,

"Does it matter?" The girl answered flatly.

"I think it does, it's your name after all. Mine is Victoria Richards, you can call me Victoria if you want."

"Whatever. It's not like I'll be here long enough to call you _anything_."

"Don't you _want_ to be here Jenna?"

The girl locked eyes with her for an instant, a startling light blue against her dark hair.

"Since when did it matter what I wanted?"

"Since right now." Victoria said smoothly. "You can sit over here if you like, and I won't bother you anymore. But if there's something else you want to do, well, you're free to do that too. Do you play an instrument?"

"Piano, since I was five." She answered rather boredly. Her gaze wasn't focused on Victoria now, it was drifting to a couple of guitars leaning against the wall.

"Have you ever played the guitar?" Victoria asked.

"No."

"Do you want to learn? It's not all that hard. Once you get down a few basic chords, there are a lot of songs that you can play."

"Look, you don't need to waste your time on me, alright? That _Stolle _woman has it in for me, there's no way I'll be here long enough to learn a whole new instrument."

"She can't kick you out for not doing anything wrong, can she?"

"She can, and she _has_. Whose fault it is doesn't really matter, it always comes back down to blaming me."

She hadn't managed to get Jenna to budge that day, and left her alone to simply watch the other children in silence.

The next session wasn't for two more days, and Victoria had decided to come in an hour early in hopes of getting some sheet music organized. The building and classrooms were open, though almost no one was around yet. As Victoria approached her own room, she heard what sounded like somebody already playing. She stood back for a long moment just to listen, before peering inside.

It was _Jenna_, playing a melody on the keyboard that was so melancholy, it actually made Victoria ache inside. She'd never heard something with such raw emotion, come out of someone that young before. For a couple minutes she stood listening at the door, until Jenna seemed to sense someone was watching her, and directed an irritated look her direction.

"Please don't stop." Victoria said quietly. "That was wonderful."

"I don't go in for showin' off." Jenna said crossly. "I can't call much my _own_ in this life, but my music is just that. I don't like people listening to it."

"But you're so _good_ Jenna, you have so much feeling--"

"Drop it, okay?" She said sharply, her expression changing when one of her least favorite people on the planet stomped into the room behind Victoria.

"Jenna Porter!" Mrs. Stolle exclaimed. "You know good and well that students aren't permitted on the premesis before 3:00! You'e finished here, do you understand? Finished!"

Victoria spun around quickly to face the older woman.

"No Mrs. Stolle, please, Jenna didn't do anything wrong, I _asked_ her to come! She was just playing a piece I wanted to hear, weren't you Jenna?"

The scared-doe look in her eyes vanished as the teenager struggled upright to her feet.

"Yes Ma'am, I was just playing like she wanted."

"Mrs. Ambassador, you can't show favortism to one child over the others, that's not how we do things here. Please keep your work for _class_ time." Mrs. Stolle said stiffly, and shot another steely gaze at Jenna. "I'm _watching_ you."

Neither of them moved until the woman was gone, and Victoria let out a shaky breath.

"That woman is downright frightening." Victoria commented, actually getting a laugh out of Jenna.

"You didn't have to do that." Jenna replied, her expression suddenly softer than Victoria had yet seen. "But thanks."

"Anything to keep you for a student." Victoria said lightly. "So I'm here, and you're here...do you want to pick up a guitar?"

"Do you really think I could learn that easily?"

"After hearing you play the piano, I'm almost sure of it. You really do have quite a talent, you play by ear I suppose?"

"It's all I've ever done, I can't read music well."

"Well we can fix _that _this summer too, if you like."

"What about your other students? You heard Mrs. Stolle, you'll get in trouble for spending too much time on me."

"I don't work for that woman, I don't work in the Foster system at all. My husband and I are American Diplomats to your country."

"What are you doing _here_?"

"I volunteered my time for the summer." Victoria told her, deciding not to mention their own interest in adopting for the moment.

"So you'll be here for the whole summer?"

"That's what I agreed to."

"Well, I suppose if you're going to be here anyway, if you really want to teach me..."

"I do."

"But I don't want you to get in trouble because of me."

"What that old hen doesn't know won't hurt her, and it won't hurt us." Victoria cracked, grateful to see Jenna smile again.

"Alright, where do we start?"

* * *

Present Day

* * *

"Mom?"

"Yes Jen?"

"I never told you that I was listening that day, when you told Mrs. Stolle that you wanted me. I heard everything you said, I couldn't hardly believe it."

"I meant every word - and I think I've been proved right, don't you?"

"You could have had anyone in that system Mom, anyone you wanted. Sometimes I still can't believe that you chose me."

"Jenna, I knew that you were special, from the very first time I heard you play. It was a no brainer for me."

"Thank you for giving me a chance, giving me a life. I never expected to have one."

"Well you do now, and no matter what happens...no matter what...don't let it slip away. There will always be a 'Mrs. Stolle' somewhere to tear you down. You can't let them."


	10. Heroes

Donatello's heart beat faster as they were getting closer. At last they had reached the floor he had supposed they had to be on, and he felt like he was literally about to jump out of his skin. He and his brothers had no sooner piled out into the hallway off the stairwell, when they had to stop in their tracks.

What looked like a rescue team of at least five different people were trying to remove a massive centerpost from someone _alive_, and trapped underneath. They were clearly struggling to get it lifted in the slightest, and the four brothers quickly looked at one another, having a non-vocal discussion with their eyes. Leonardo nodded firmly at them, and they approached the workers.

"Hey, can we give you a hand?" Leonardo spoke up to get their attention.

"We'd appreciate it!" A woman called back to him, "This thing's not lifting easy!"

"Alright, just back off all of you, get off of it completely." Leonardo told them decisively, and then motioned to his brothers to come forward.

They took separate positions along the post, and then took a few seconds to prepare themselves.

"Okay guys, we're gonna lift on three." Leonardo told them, and then counted it off.

The humans watched in stunned amazement as the four lifted and then removed the post, successfully freeing the man trapped underneath.

"Oh my word!" The same female as before gasped, approaching them slowly. "Who _are_ you people?"

"We're _nobody_ - and we were never here." Raphael answered her sharply.

As the other members of her team were loading up the injured man, the woman hung back for a moment to talk to them.

"We could sure use hands like yours, would you be willing to come with us?" She asked, nonplussed by Raphael's statement.

"Sorry Ma'am, I wish we could." Donatello answered. "We're already on a mission."

"Are you going after someone _specific_? I'm sorry that sounds...it sounds kind of impossible. I don't want to disappoint you, but the live ones have been the _exception_ in this section. I hope that you're prepared for the possibility that whoever you're looking for might already be gone, even if you're able to find them." The woman said carefully.

"She was _alive _when I talked to her an hour and a half ago - that's good enough for me!" Donatello said firmly. "We're following a _signal, _so it's not as impossible as it might seem."

"She must be pretty important, high ranking?" The woman asked him.

"She's my girlfriend." He answered simply.

"Oh, I'm...I'm sorry. I hope that you can find her. How did you guys come up through the building? I sure don't remember seeing you."

"We came in through the East, been taking a criss-cross journey ever since, trying to avoid fires."

"The East? Was it easier to get in that way?"

"No, I wouldn't say that at all. It took a couple feats of gymnastics for us to get through."

"Are you planning on trying to leave the same way?"

"Sure hope so, it's pretty much the only way we know right now. I'm betting it would be easy to get lost in here."

"Do you have a radio? Periodic updates are being sent out, important information on different quadrants, fires and the like."

"We're not on your channel." Donatello answered. "Look, we're really close, and we need to go."

"Okay, I get it, you--" The woman cut off sharply when she caught her first real glimpse of the _faces_ surrounding her, and realized they weren't anything like her. They seemed to understand what she had just figured out, instantly backing away from her.

"We were _never_ here." The same one repeated from before, and then they quickly disappeared into the darkness down the hall.

She stood rooted to her spot for a moment, wondering if she'd been seeing things. She rubbed stinging eyes, and then hurried to catch up with the rest of her team.

* * *

"Well _that _was a brilliant move. What'd you have to go and talk to her for genius?" Raphael demanded of him.

"I figured she had a good reason for askin' Raph. And you know, at this point, I _really_ don't care. _Shoot_, this is it guys, we're hot!"

"Hot like _fire_?" Mike quavered from behind him.

"No, sorry Mikey, I'm talking about my tracker! This is it, they're here!"

All four of them stared at the wreckage blocking the inside of the door frame for a few seconds.

"She wasn't kidding about being trapped, huh?" Leo remarked.

"This is the _only _thing standing between us and them. C'mon guys, I need your help now more than ever - give me one of those tools!" Donnie said urgently.

They attacked the debris with a furious effort, summoning every ounce of strength in their limbs to break through wood and stone. No one talked, everyone was under the influence of the biggest adrenaline rush yet, as they started to eke a way through it. Sweat was coming in buckets, and one of them started to stop at intervals to rest, while the other three would keep at it at all times. It took several minutes before they were able to make any headway with it, and Donatello felt himself losing patience.

_I'm such an idiot! If it wasn't for me, she wouldn't be in this mess at all! If I lose her, I have no one to blame but myself._

Another surge of adrenaline took him, and he attacked the wreckage like a wild animal fighting for its' life. After a couple of minutes had passed, he felt a pair of very strong arms pull him from behind, and turned around to face Leo.

"Donnie stop it, you're gonna hurt yourself. Just cool it for a minute, okay? Rest, just for a little bit." Leo told him.

"I _can't_, we're too close!"

"You _have _to, 'cause we can't afford to lose you genius!" Raphael agreed insistently. "Now gimme that pick axe, and take a load off for awhile!"


	11. Moonlit Vision

Quite unintentionally, Jenna had started to drift off herself. She'd been fighting off weariness for so long, trying to keep her attention on Victoria. But her mother had stopped talking awhile ago, and Jenna had lapsed into her own tired silence. As her eyes closed slowly, she had a fleeting thought about Donatello, wishing, hoping, praying that he would be alright. For an instant she almost thought she could hear him calling her name. She wanted to respond, but she couldn't stop the veil from descending now that it had started. In her mind's eye she was returning to four month's ago, the last night she'd spent with Donatello before her graduation.

* * *

As Donatello was packing up his telescope, Jenna had wandered slightly away from him, circling the roof-top swimming pool. When Donnie had finished putting his things away and looked for her, he realized she'd already stripped off her jacket and sweatshirt down to a t-shirt and her shorts.

"Jenna, what are you doing?" He asked slowly.

"It's my last night with you Donnie. I don't think I'm ready to leave yet." She replied wistfully, never taking her eyes off the water.

"You're not thinking what I _think_ you're thinking, are you?"

"Oh yes, yes I am." She answered, and dove into the water without another second's notice. She surfaced with a laugh, flinging dark hair straight back out of her face. "Whew! The water's great Donnie, join me!"

"Do you know how cold you're gonna be when you get out of there?"

"I'll survive, and you will too! It's a beautiful night, let's enjoy it! C'mon!"

"No, _you _c'mon. You shouldn't be doing this at all."

"Donnie, how many times have you been up here?"

"I don't know, half a dozen maybe. I'm serious, would you c'mon?"

"And you've never done this, right? That's your famous M.O., you'll look but you won't touch. You're already _here_ Donnie, so let's live a little!"

"We really shouldn't stay here much longer Jen. Will you please come out of there?"

"What are you worried for? You said your motion sensor would tell us if anything _breathed_ in that building. You're young Donatello, for one night it's okay to act like it!"

"You're not gonna let this go, are you?"

"Nope."

With a frustrated grunt he unfastened his belt, and whipped off his cloak. With a roll of his eyes heavenward he backed up slightly, and then leaped into the water with a flying somersault. The shock of it registered immediately, and he surfaced with a mighty gasp.

"Dang it, you coulda warned me!" He complained.

"If I'd told you, it would have taken another ten minutes to get you in! It's not so bad. You're a turtle, you're supposed to _like_ water."

"I don't mind_ water_, I just don't enjoy freezing my shell off." He chattered, throwing her a mock angry look. "Just when does the fun part begin?"

She threw both hands around his neck, and kissed him deeply.

"How about now?" She asked with a half smile, hands still entwined around his shoulders.

"Getting warmer." He murmured, and pulled her closer to him again.

They swam several minutes just for play, and then relaxed into floating positions, staring up at the dark night sky.

"It's fun isn't it, throwing the old rule book out the window?" Jenna teased him.

"_Everything's_ better when I do it with you." He said softly, and sighed. "I'm gonna miss you, but I'm glad you're doing this. You parents deserve to spend some more time with you."

"I'm going to miss you too. But you know I'll be back, and we'll have more time together than ever. April's already offered to put me up when I come back to New York."

"Are you sure you're ready to leave Australia for good? It's been home your whole life."

"Up until the last few years. It's not the country that I'll miss Donnie, that's just geography."

"You've talked through all of this with your parents?"

"I think they expected it Donnie. Besides, their diplomatic reign in Australia isn't permanent, they miss the states. It's _their_ home after all. I think they're about ready to leave the foreign community behind."

"How are you doing with the court hearing coming back up?"

"That stupid thing? I'm not going, I don't give a hoot about it. I left that junk behind me years ago. I wouldn't wish being kidnapped on anybody, but it did lead you to me, so all's well that ends well. Now they wanna start it up all over again...I say no thank you."

"It's funny how things work out, isn't it? If I had tried to picture where my life would take me, what might happen, I wouldn't have dreamed you up in a million years."

"It certainly makes it hard to believe that our lives are a series of accidents. Y'know before all this, that was sort of all I believed. Some people got the long stick, some got the short. I figured I was just one of the rejects." Jenna said slowly.

"And now?"

"Now I can't imagine wanting my life to turn out any other way, _except_ for wishing that it didn't have to be so...so compartmentalized. But I love you Donnie, infinitely, truly. There's nowhere I'd rather be than right here."

* * *

Her dream like state was interrupted by a much louder voice than before, calling across the room.

"JENNA! Do you hear me? We're coming!"

She instantly opened dazed eyes, sitting up part way on her elbows.

"Donnie?" She called back as loudly as she could muster.

"Jenna!" A very relieved sounding shout returned. "Hang on, we're coming! We're almost in!"

She was much more awake now, and could have smacked herself for falling asleep. She turned on her side, firmly shaking Victoria.

"Mom! Wake up, please, wake up!"

After a few terrifying seconds, the woman did open her eyes, struggling to focus on Jenna.

"What is it baby?"

"They're here, they're gonna get us out!"

"They?"

"Donnie, him and his brothers. I should have known they wouldn't let him come alone! Stay awake for me Mom, just awhile longer!"


	12. At Last

Donatello was so worked up by the time they'd made a large enough passage that he was actually shaking. He pushed his way through it into the room breathing hard, but time seemed to suspend in mid-air the second that he saw Jenna. She had tried to get up unsuccessfully, her amazed expression meeting his _relieved_ one.

"_Donnie_." She wavered shakily.

He dashed to her side, pulling her up off the floor as she wrapped both arms around his neck, burying her head in his chest.

"I can't believe you made it, I've been so worried, I..." She trailed off as no more words seemed adequate.

"Jenna I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm_ so _sorry! I do love you, I always have and I always _will_!" He babbled as one continuous statement.

"Donnie." She said firmly to stop him.

"Yeah?"

"Shut up." She told him, pulling off his Oxi so that she could kiss him.

He held her for a few seconds longer, before forcing himself to carefully set her back down on the floor. He pulled off his back pack, yanking out a a couple of additional Oxi's for them to use. He took a moment to change the setting to accommodate a human's lungs, and then pulled the strap tighter to adjust it over Jenna's head. Then he turned rather nervously to face Victoria for the first time.

"Mrs. Ambassador, try to relax for a minute, okay? This mask will make it easier for you to breathe, but it won't hinder you from talking. Think you can stay awake for me?" He asked her.

She nodded slowly as he set her up with a mask, her slightly probing gaze taking in the full sight of him.

"This is just a medical scanner, okay? I wanna get a good look at what's going on inside you before we attempt to go anywhere." He was saying to her now.

While he was using his machine, she managed to make direct eye contact with him, something he'd been kind of avoiding.

"You're Donatello?" She asked.

"Yes I am." He answered. "Mrs. Ambassador--"

"Victoria. Do you have any idea...how long I've waited for this? It's kind of crazy...it took all this to make it happen."

"I'm sorry for hoarding your daughter." He said morosely. "I never meant to---" He suddenly stopped, as he heard a click on the radio. "Excuse me for a minute Ma'am." He said to Victoria, and then his hand went to his radio. "Go ahead Doc. You got it already? Sheesh that was fast. Uh huh, yeah, I saw it. Well I'm sure we can find _something_ to use in here. Yeah, we'll move as soon as we can. I'll turn mine on so that you can try and track our progress, and meet us where we come out. I better go."

He hung up the radio, and started to address what medical needs he could immediately meet. Victoria's issues were mostly internal, and he couldn't do anything for them _here_. He turned to Jenna next and made a better gauze covering for her forehead, then searched her from top to bottom. Her broken ankle made him wince openly.

"Okay babe, you're _definitely_ not walking out of here. I'm just gonna wrap it for right now to protect it, keep it from worse damage while we travel. Are you sure you not hurting anywhere else?"

"No I...I don't think so." She replied.

No sooner had the words left her mouth, than the floor beneath them shuddered violently, and things shifted above them as well. Donatello threw himself physically over Jenna as he heard things coming down, and his nearby brothers had leaped in to help shield Victoria from further injury as well. The tremor seemed to last for eternity, instead of the minute and a half that it actually went on. By the time it was finished, it was clear they were dealing with more damage to the room, and they'd lost the emergency lights. They were now plunged into pitch darkness, except for the roving beams on their helmets. The only sound was a distant rumbling, and several sets of rapid breathing.

"Is everybody okay?" Donnie rose first, after glancing back down at Jenna. "Guys?"

"We're here Donnie." Leo answered him, rising up to his feet too. "I think we're all okay."

"Do you think they can stop the ride so we can get off?" Mike spoke up.

Raphael had risen too, but he hadn't said anything. He was focused on the doorway they had fought their way through.

"Uh...Donnie? I _don't_ think we're getting out this way." He said shakily.

Donatello immediately spun around to look. While debris had fortunately missed them, the door was now obstructed by far worse wreckage than before.

"We can still do it." Mike said a little bravely.

Donnie leaned over to the two women. "Hang tight here for a second. We need to have a look at this."

The four brothers went to examine the condition of the doorway up close, Raphael already shaking his head.

"Oh we can _do_ it alright," He said quietly, "It's just gonna take a lot longer."

"A lot longer that we don't _have_." Donatello emphasized with a whisper. "Guys, her Mom's bleeding internally, if we don't get her out soon, she doesn't even have a _chance_ of making it."

Leonardo wasn't staring at the doorway, he was focused on the nearby wall. "Donnie, how thick do you suppose that is?"

Donnie braced his hand against the wall, and seemed to be thinking. "We could do it. I didn't want to attempt it before, because of how unstable I figured the room was. But everything's coming down anyway, and we're running out of time."

"What, are we gonna make our _own _doorway?" Mike asked.

"I think it's our best option at this point." Donatello said, looking at his two older brothers.

"Right - we'll get started, take it in stages so we can be sure we're not causing a cave in." Leonardo told him. "You get back to the girls, okay?"

Donatello trotted back to them while his brothers had went back to work with the tools, and explained to them what was going on.

"Jenna...do you think I could have a moment with your friend?" Victoria ventured.

"Mother!"

"I'm not gonna embarrass you honey, I just really want to talk to him."

"I can take you over to watch the guys Jen, you can crack the whip a little." Donatello said with a small smile.

She looked rather cross, but didn't fight him from picking her back up. He left her nearby his brothers and returned to Victoria with a knot in his stomach. He lowered himself to a cross-legged position beside her, forcing a smile.

"Hi. Quite a night, huh?" He said awkwardly.

"I don't want to make you uncomfortable Donatello, but there are things that I need to say to you. First though, I need you to tell me what's wrong with me. I'm an adult, and I deserve to know."

After a beat of hesitation, he plunged ahead. "You have several cracked ribs, a punctured lung, it's near collapsing."

"Anything else?"

"You're bleeding internally, going into shock."

She closed her eyes for a moment and nodded as if she'd expected it.

"Okay. My chances _aren't_ good, I know that. We have to talk about Jenna. You're in love with her?"

"Yes, I am." He said slowly.

"You sound like you're ashamed of it."

"It's not...it's not that she isn't worth it. You _have_ to believe that I don't want to do anything to hurt her. I just don't want to hold her _back_ either."

"I have to admit I'm relieved to meet you, and see that there's actually a reason for your hesitation. I was starting to think you were the dumbest man alive."

He held in a laugh, and she went on.

"Jenna says you never thought you deserved her. The truth is Donnie, you make her _happy_, the happiest she's ever been in her entire life. _That's_ what she deserves. You have to stop pushing her away, because it's killing her. And after tonight, you may be the only thing in the world she has left."


	13. Friends in High Places

It took the guys about fifteen minutes to safely create a pass-through, and Raphael brought his shoulder to bear hard on the last piece of framing. It gave under the pressure, but Michelangelo didn't miss his brother's grimace of pain.

"Say one word, and I'll kick your shell from here to kingdom come." Raph warned him through gritted teeth, trying to shake the pain out of his limb.

"Well are you _okay_?"

"Yeah, it's fine." He said quickly, going to straighten it out. "See? Fine."

Across the room, Donatello had searched out a large enough piece of debris to use as a backboard for Victoria. Leonardo had taken apart one of the harnesses so that he could use it to strap her down securely.

"How are we doing over there guys?" Donnie called to the others.

"We're set Donnie! I think we'd better get moving!" Raphael responded, as he and Mike came back over to join them.

Leo started for one end of their homemade backboard, and Mike moved for the other before Raphael could blink.

"Raph, d'you think you can handle Jenna, and I'll try to keep an eye on stuff like before?" Donnie asked him.

"Sure bro, I got her." He answered, but when he started to try and lift, a shooting pain in his right shoulder stopped him for a moment.

"Hang on, what's the matter?" Donnie asked him right away.

"Nothin', I'm fine."

Donatello narrowed his eyes at his brother as he probed the socket of his shoulder.

"No, don't think so Raph. You've got some serious strain, if you're not careful you could dislocate it altogether, and you don't need _that_. I'll take Jenna--"

"I'm glad ya'll are so comfortable talking about me like I'm not here." Jenna interrupted ironically.

"I'll take _you_," Donatello finished pointedly, "And I'll give you my scanner Raph. The temperature gauge isn't hard to use, and it's color-coded. Green is good, yellow is pushing it, and red is a no go. Understand?"

"Yeah, okay." He agreed.

Donatello swung Jenna up in his arms, and led the way out of the room into the hallway. It was going to take longer now that they had the ladies, but no one was going to voice anything negative in front of them. He had tried to keep a visual memory of the physical floors they had crossed over, and could only pray that they would be able to find a path back out of it fast enough.

They returned to the stairwell they had last left, and began making their way carefully back down.

"If it weren't for the obvious, I might be enjoying this." Jenna said with a feisty tone, and he cracked a smile for her.

"Only you or Mike could joke at a time like this."

She started to answer, and then gasped. "Donnie watch it, there's someone down there!"

He froze where he was and glanced down the last four steps, surprised to see a slender shadow, just struggling to get to its' feet under it.

Donatello called for the others to stop, and then lightly put Jenna down, before approaching the stranger.

"Hey, are you okay? Do you need--" He stopped abruptly when he got a good look at the woman. "_You_?" He then said incredulously, to the same rescue worker he'd talked to before. "What are you doing here, where is your team?"

"A few floors down." She answered through clenched teeth as he guided her to sit back down for a moment on the steps. "I sent them ahead and doubled back for you."

"For us? Why would you come back for _us_?"

"Because I received numerous bad calls about the East, it's engulfed. You can't go that way, I was afraid you were going to get trapped."

"We could have found something else, you shouldn't have risked yourself." He told her.

"You said you didn't know another way - and you're right, it's easy to get lost in here."

Donatello was scanning her for injuries now, when the woman suddenly noticed Jenna.

"Wait a minute, is this--"

"My girlfriend." Donatello said. "Now stay still for a minute, I want to get your side wrapped. How is that left leg feeling? It looks a little rough."

"It hurts, but I'm pretty sure I can walk on it. Am I bleeding?"

"Your side is. Relax, this won't take me long."

While he went to work, the woman glanced back at Jenna again.

"Do you know how lucky you are?" She asked seriously.

"It's hard to feel lucky right now, but I am _grateful_." Jenna answered. "Who are you? You guys met before?"

"Just briefly in the hall, the name's Katherine." She said.

"It's shocking to me that you came back just to warn us." Donatello told her honestly, and she looked back at him.

"That's what we _do._ Times like these, we don't leave people behind." She hesitated for a longer beat. "I think we're going to have to help each other now. I don't know _who_ you are, I don't know _what_ you are, and right now, I couldn't care less. I'll help you find the way out, I'm just not sure I'll make it the whole way on my own."

"Do you know the building that well?"

"I've been assigned here with my security detail more often than I can count. The FBI gets involved when there are so many dignitaries to--"

"FBI?" Raphael echoed from the top of the stairs. "Are you kidding me? That's perfect! Why don't we just go drop in on the CIA while we're at it?"

He was just working himself up into a tangent, and Donatello wasn't having it.

"Can it Raph!" He said firmly. "I _told_ you this was risky, I _asked_ you not to come with me, and I _said_ you'd have to listen if you did! So shut your mouth, get behind us, and we'll be moving in just a couple minutes!"

Katherine raised her eyebrows as the other one backed off, and rose to her own feet.

"Okay, I think I'm good." She said, gingerly testing her weight on her leg. "It's not great, but I'll live."

"One more thing." The stranger said, swiftly digging through his backpack. He produced a mask for her, and adjusted it down to size. "Put this on, I'm sure you've breathed enough smoke and fumes already."

"Thanks." She answered, doing as he'd instructed. "Are we going?"

"Yup." He said simply, picking back up the other female.

Their trek began once more, a slow but steady course downstairs. Raphael walked closely to Katherine, staying near to her in case the woman had any issues. He didn't like this one bit, but they needed her help, and he couldn't deny that. They had a much better chance of escaping with her, than on their own. But the FBI? Was this some kind of cosmic joke? Of all the people they had to run into, what were the chances of that? He kept his mouth shut, but that didn't mean he was comfortable with it.

Katherine's own mind was reeling too. She had no idea what she was getting herself into, but she honestly wasn't frightened, at least not of them. It was obvious that they weren't dangerous - they had risked _everything_ to walk blindly into one of the worst situations imaginable. Even the one in the red mask didn't particularly concern her. There was no malice behind his eyes, only nerves.

"What direction are we heading?" Donatello asked her.

"A north course would be the best scenario, it would get us back to help." She told him.

"_Help_ as in a whole bunch of people?" Raphael commented. "I think you're forgetting the small but important fact that we do not _exist_."

"Oh shoot, sorry. That would be why you came in the _East_. Well that's out of the equation now so...I suppose we ought try the South, it's probably the next best thing." She said slowly.

"South it is." Donatello said briskly, and pulled up to another quick stop. "Hang here for just a sec Jen, I'm just gonna let Doc know about the change of course."

The train came back to a halt while Donatello adjusted his radio again.

"You can hear me okay? Alright, listen, we have to divert, the east won't work now. We're making for the south, and I'm turning on my beacon so that you can track us. We're doing our best Doc - yeah, hopefully. God willing, we'll see you soon."


	14. Taking Chances

Donatello sent Raphael in front of him with Katherine now, since she was the one who was supposed to know the way, and he was the one with Donnie's scanner. It only made sense.

"Do you guys do things like this all the time?" She asked Raphael.

"No questions please." He said shortly. "It would be better if you could just forget that you ever saw us."

"That's gonna be pretty hard to do."

He sighed heavily. "Look lady, we _just _wanna be left alone. _No _more questions. I can't multi-task very well, so I'd rather focus on one disaster at a time."

"This FBI thing must have you pretty freaked out."

"Can we _not_ talk about it?" He said sharply.

She swallowed, but then continued. "I suppose given your position, it's pretty hard to trust _anybody_, let alone someone like me. I'm going to try and put your mind at ease, okay? I have no intention of telling anyone what I've seen tonight, and I know my team didn't realize anything special about you guys, besides the fact that you were incredibly strong. I'm on the level here. I didn't _have_ to come back to warn you, but I did. Doesn't that count for something?"

He met her gaze for a long moment. "We'll see." He replied, reaching out a hand to steady her as she stumbled. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm alright." She said a little breathlessly. "We've got to keep up the pace."

"Why do you think I'm asking? You won't keep this up forever y'know."

"I'll cross that bridge when I come to it." She answered doggedly, stopping short when she heard a familiar tone over the radio. "Hold on a second." She told the guys behind her. "This is Agent James, go ahead?"

"Hey, we hadn't heard from you since before that last rocking, just making sure you're okay in there." A voice responded for them all to hear.

"I'm alright, banged up a bit. The gentlemen I returned for actually found _me_, and we're on our way out." She said.

"Coming back around front?"

"That's a negative, I have special cirumstances. Keep me abreast of any more issues you hear about inside, but don't worry about catching up with me right away." She answered, and replaced her radio with another glance at Raphael. "I'm not going to sell you out." She said firmly.

* * *

They traveled in a tense silence for the most part after that, as they made their careful journey across the building. Donatello stopped a couple of times to check on Victoria. She was no longer conscious, but still breathing. He was working hard not to let Jenna see his concern, but she was still pumping him for information.

"What are her chances Donnie?"

"Jen, I can't tell you that, I really don't know. I can say that Luke and Marc are already aware of the situation, and they said they were prepared to help. I know you're scared, but I don't want you to try and think of everything that can go wrong right now."

She was quiet for a long moment. "I still can't believe you came in after us. It was so dangerous...is dangerous..."

"Are you really that surprised? What did you expect me to do?"

* * *

Minutes passed slowly as they had to change routes a couple of times. The first one was simply because of obstacles that would have proven difficult to ascend with their precious cargo. The second time was because of open fire, which had forced them to really high-tail in the opposite direction. Raphael was helping Katherine more now. It was becoming increasingly evident that her own strength was running out, but she was also fairly confident that they were nearly in the clear.

They'd traveled as close to the ground floor as was feasible, and then started searching for the easiest access point outside. The best exit still required a bit of a drop. Donatello and Raphael surveyed the situation for a few seconds.

"Sorry about mouthing off before genius." Were his first words to his younger brother.

"You're alright Raph. I'm sorry I cut you off so hard, we just didn't have time for it. Okay, I think this is doable, we'll just have to bring them down one at a time, kinda chain gang style. I don't know how much you should really be doing."

"Would you quit worrying about _me_? I don't care if the bone breaks clean off, we're almost out of here!"

"Alright, alright. Do you want top or bottom?"

"Like it really matters? Just get down there, and I'll start handing you females."

Leonardo stayed to help Raphael, and Mike jumped down to the ground to assist Donnie on that end. They brought down Jenna and Katherine first, and while they were in the more difficult process of getting Victoria down, the van and Luke's Volvo pulled up nearby. Both Doctors ran their direction with a mixture of relief, and incredible nerves.

Luke bit the cap off of a needle as he dropped on the ground by Victoria, swiftly searching for a vein. While he was handling her, Marcus started for Jenna, stopping short when he laid eyes on Katherine.

"Wait a minute, who are _you_?" He stammered.

She didn't answer, and her gaze didn't quite focus. Marcus got down beside her, shining his penlight in her eyes, then noticed the nasty wound on her side.

"What's wrong Marc?" Raph asked him.

"Exhaustion maybe, definitely suffering from blood loss too. She's not exactly with us right this second. Who the heck is she?"

"We met her inside." Leo answered. "We helped her team free somebody that was trapped. We separated, but she came back to warn us about the East being in bad shape. She was hurt when we found her, but she still managed to help us find the best way out."

"She's FBI, and she knows what we are." Raphael inserted flatly.

Marcus' eyes grew suddenly wide. "No kidding. Brother, what are we supposed to _do _with her?"

Leo, Mike, and Raph looked at each other and shrugged.

"We were a little preoccupied with surviving." Raph said sarcastically.

"Sorry, I'm just thinking out loud." Marc said. "She clearly needs help...I guess we need to do some fast thinking."

Meanwhile Donatello was trying to help Luke with Victoria, and keep Jenna calm at the same time.

"There isn't anything else I can do _here_ Donnie, we just need to get her ready for transport so we can--" Luke started.

"Transport _where_ Doc?"

"To the moon Donnie, where do you think? We need to get underground."

"What are you, INSANE? She's a human! She needs the hospital!" Donatello argued.

"I talked to some paramedics, okay? Every decent trauma center in this city is overflowing. We can treat her faster, with less restrictions, if we just do it ourselves."

"Doc, this is crazy! We're not set up for it!"

"The equipment in your lab was originally _made _for humans Donnie, I _guarantee_ it will work for them."

"I'm talking about stuff like drugs and blood! We don't have any of it for a human!"

Marcus was behind Donatello, now edging in beside Victoria. "We do _now_ Donnie, just don't ask where it came from." He told him.

"You guys are _serious_?"

Luke looked up at Jenna. "She's unconscious, and she's _your_ mother. What do you want us to do? We can take her to the ER, or we can do it ourselves, it's your call."

She let out a sharp scared breath. "I...uh...I trust you. If you think this is her best shot, then do it yourselves." She replied, and then glanced at Donatello. "I'm sorry, I just...I can't lose her Donnie."

"I don't want you too either babe. Alright, let's get her set to go then."

"We _do _have another problem to deal with." Marcus spoke up. "That woman who came out with you, she's not in a good shape."

"Katherine? She was losing blood, so that's not surprising." Donatello said.

"What are we going to do with her? She's FBI Luke!" Marc told him.

Luke paused at his revelation, the wheels obviously turning. "What's her awareness level?"

"She's not really checked in right now."

"There's no time." Luke said decisively. "We can't leave her here to bleed to death or go into shock. We also can't afford to separate. We'll have to take her too."

Donatello immediately started to object, but couldn't think of a better solution, so he simply shook his head.

"I can't believe we're gonna do this, but it doesn't seem like we have a _choice_. Okay, let's hurry!" He said.


	15. Heading Home

* * *

They loaded Victoria and Katherine into the back of the van, and put Jenna in Luke's Volvo, which Marcus was going to be driving with Mike. Raphael took the wheel of the van again, and Leonardo rode up front with him to give Donnie and Luke more room to do what they needed to in the back. Donatello immediately started looking at the supplies that Marcus had "foraged", while Luke started Victoria on a transfusion before the van had even started moving. When Donatello saw the number of units, he shook his head with a whistle.

"Man, what'd Marc do, rob a Blood Bank?" He asked.

"Yeah, I gave him my gun. He only had to shoot two people."

"Not _funny_ Doc. Seriously, what did he do?"

"Did you notice her blood type is the universal recipient? She can take anything. Marc just went into one of the triages like he was supposed to be there, took what he figured they'd need."

"No one can identify him?"

"They were a little side-tracked Donnie. Desperate times call for...certain measures. We'll reimburse the medicine of course, we just needed what we needed, and didn't have time to get approval or give explanations. You know we'll do the right thing."

"I'm not worried about that. How does she look to you Doc?"

"Victoria? It could go either way here, which is better than I originally anticipated. She was already in hypovolemic shock, no surprise to you I'm sure. That was epinephrine I gave her before, I'm hoping it will help with her cardiac output until we can replace more of the blood that she needs. We'll have to reinflate the one lung that did collapse, hopefully we can get that done tonight too. Really, this could have been a lot worse, and I'm surprised that it wasn't. Did you guys come out unscathed?"

"For the most part. Raph hurt his shoulder doing some demo, I'll take a look at it when we're in a better place with the ladies."

"_Dang it_, should he be driving?"

"Uh...I didn't think about it. It's a little late now. What about Katherine, what's going on physically?"

"Her side has been impaled by something, probably a metal matieral. She'll need some serious stitches." While Luke was talking, he suddenly pulled out an unfamiliar bottle, and started preparing another needle for Katherine this time.

"Doc, what's that?"

"Something my Mom spent years on as a chemist. It's a special sedative, that also acts as an amnesiac. If I give it to her right now, it'll probably be a lot more effective."

"An amnesiac? Is that safe?"

"It was my Mother's life work, and yes, it was approved. It was originally designed for traumatic events, serious surgeries, that kind of thing."

"What's she gonna remember?"

"It's not fool proof Donnie, not designed to wipe the slate clean or anything, we wouldn't do_ that_. Hopefully it will make the events of this evening a whole lot foggier, much more removed. It's kinda like when you have a really deep dream, and you might wake up remembering a couple of details. But as time passed, you might even forget _those_ quickly. With a couple of injections of this stuff, I'm hoping she won't have much memory of you guys at all, and what she _does_ recall will feel like nothing but a dream."

"_Then_ what?"

"Then I take her to the hospital, tell her she was hurt in the bombing, and that's the end of it."

Donatello wiped a hand across his forehead, releasing a shaky breath. "I just can hardly believe any of this is real. It's the most _surreal_ thing I've ever been through." Then he cast a long glance back at Victoria. "She has to make it Doc. She _has_ to."

"She's has the _chance_ to because of you guys. I'm really proud of you." Luke told him quietly.

"It was terrifying." Donatello answered, sounding suddenly far away.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah Doc, just a little overwhelmed is all. I was so close to losing Jen, it was the only thing driving me on. I don't know if I could have done it otherwise. These other people, they were putting their lives on the line for complete strangers. Before Katherine realized we weren't human, she asked us for help with her team. I actually felt guilty when I told her we couldn't. We run into so many terrible people Doc, but there are a lot of amazing ones in this city too. Did anybody tell you how she ended up with us?"

"No, I just heard Marc say she was FBI."

"I talked with her long enough for her to find out what direction we'd be heading, and then she figured out that we were different. We immediately bailed and she went the opposite way with her team. But she said she'd received word about the East, and she came back to find us, to_ warn _us Doc. God only knows, she mighta saved our shells."

Luke glanced down at the stranger with new appreciation, lightly smoothing bronze hair off of her forehead.

"Katherine huh?"

"Katherine _James_, I think she said. She told us she was part of a security detail. Are you sure this drug isn't gonna hurt her?"

"It's been tested extensively, and I won't overdo it, I promise. As soon as the situation stables out, I'll get her to a hospital."

* * *

It took awhile to get home, but since Luke had already been able to at least start Victoria on something, time wasn't as big of a problem as it could have been. It took Mike two trips with the Slider to get everyone back to the Den, and he brought Donnie, the Docs, and Victoria on the first one, then went back out for the others.

"We're gonna start getting her hooked up in the Lab Donnie." Luke told him briskly.

"I'm gonna check in with Sensei, I'll be with you soon." He replied.

Donatello went swiftly down the hall, not bothering to knock at the door.

"Master? We're back."

He found Splinter sitting rigidly against the headboard, his shoulders seeming to relax for the first time when he saw him.

"My _son_." He said wearily. "Is everyone alright?"

"I'm sorry I couldn't call you, nothing's getting through on the cells right now. All of us are pretty much okay, Jenna's hurt, her Mom's not doing great, but the Docs are working on it. Um...we sort of had to bring someone else with us too, there were...extenuating circumstances."

"All that I care about is that everyone is alright. I have prayed every second since you left."

"I'm sure that had something to do with our success Sensei. You should probably really be resting now. How's your chest feeling?"

"It is tight."

"I'll get you set up with some fresh oxygen."

"Please do not worry yourself for me my son."

"You've been on your own long enough tonight Master. The Docs have Victoria in hand, and the other girls aren't even here yet."

"Girls?" Splinter repeated, as Donatello started to set up the machine.

"Yeah, our tag along is a female too."

"How are you and Jenna?" He asked, rather than pursuing more information about the stranger.

Donatello smiled at him. "Right to the point, aren't you? Uh...I was ready to end it all for her _own_ sake Master. And now..."

"Now what?"

"I think I'd rather let her make up her own mind."

"I believe she has already done that Donatello."

"Alright, no more talking." Donatello said mock sternly. "Let's get you started on this."


	16. Hoodwinked

Donatello, Luke, and Marcus worked early into the next morning, with most of that time having to be devoted to Victoria. They had decided to go ahead with the procedure to re-inflate her lungs that evening, after her blood pressure swung more in their favor. They had suffered a serious set-back not long after arriving home, when her heart had actually stopped altogether. It was only Luke's quick action in that moment that had brought her back.

She was still in critical condition, so that one of the Docs was staying with her at all times in the Lab. Around 3am they got around to resetting the bone in Jenna's ankle, though they had long ago addressed needed stitches for both her and Katherine. Luke had opted to keep Katherine incubated, and Donatello wasn't entirely happy about it.

"I wish we didn't have to do that." Donatello had told him.

"It's not going to hurt her." Luke assured him.

"You _said_ that. I still don't like it."

* * *

Donatello had dozed somewhat fitfully on the floor near the chaise lounge, where Jenna was trying to sleep out of exhaustion. He woke up for the eleventh time around 7am, noticing that Jenna was already awake too.

"Hey you." She whispered.

"Hey yourself. Please tell me you've had some real sleep."

"Not much. I tried, it's just hard with my Mom like this. They still can't tell me if she's going to live or not."

"I'm sorry Jen." He said softly back to her. "If we'd gotten there faster..."

"Would you quit talking like that? You saved our lives."

"If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have even _been_ there."

"Don, you're looking at this completely the wrong way. If I hadn't been in that building, I don't think I ever would have seen my Mom again _period_. Because I _was_ there, it was possible for her to be rescued too."

"I guess that's true. It still doesn't make up for how I acted though."

"We don't need to do this Donnie."

"Just let me finish Jen. I've been unfair to you for a _long_ time. But that's done now. I _love_ you and I promise...if this is what you want, I won't ever push you away again."

She exhaled sharply with a half smile. "Donatello, that's all I've_ ever _wanted."

* * *

They both tried to get a little more sleep after that. Luke was dead tired, but he also didn't want to have to drug Katherine more than necessary. He pulled Marcus aside out of the room for a moment so that they could talk freely.

"I'd like to go ahead and take Katherine back to the surface." Luke told him.

"Now?"

"I don't want to drug her anymore, and she'll probably start coming back around on her own pretty soon. I'll get one of the guys to help me get her to my car."

"Alright Luke, I can hold down the fort here."

* * *

She didn't so much as stir one bit, until Luke was only a couple of miles away from Manhattan General. He'd noticed her move, and quickly found somewhere to pull over. Katherine blinked several times, and then opened amber eyes wide with a jerk, obviously startled.

"What...where..." She fumbled, looking at Luke for an explanation. "Who are _you_? What am I doing here?"

"I'm nobody." He told her, and for some reason, the phrase struck a familiar chord in her mind.

"I'm a doctor," He went on to explain. "I helped patch you up outside the UN, and now I'm taking you to a hospital."

She was suddenly aware of a searing pain in her hip, where the numbing effects of sedation were wearing off.

"The UN?" She repeated. "Wait a minute, what time is it?"

"It's about 10:30, Tuesday morning. Do you remember what happened?"

"Uh..." She hesitated, leaning her head back against the seat, nervousness still clinging at finding herself inside a stranger's car, with no memory of how she'd gotten there. She felt around in her jacket, immediately locating both wallet and cell phone. If he meant to hurt her, he wouldn't have left the phone. This guy was probably on the level, but that didn't explain anything. Now she was racking her brain for _Monday's_ events, finding what felt like a barrier where memories should have been.

_He mentioned the UN. I was supposed to be running security for the Summit. Now I wake up here injuried and...__darn it__, what's wrong with me? Maybe if I can get back to the UN it would help jar something._

She focused back on Luke again. "Can you take me back to the United Nations?"

"I could, but I don't think you really want me to."

"Was there an accident? What happened?"

"It was destroyed yesterday." He told her. "Suicide bombers set up outside the main building."

"_Oh my God_..." She whispered. "Wait, I think...I think I do remember, some of it. I was outside, I wasn't in the building, my team had already left."

"You're lucky. A lot of people died. Some of them lived too, partially in thanks to you."

"To me?"

"You led a rescue effort back into the building, helped several people. You were separated from them later on, that's when you got hurt."

"Did you save me?"

"No, I just treated you. Okay, I'm going to get back on the road now, get you to the hospital."

"I don't really think I need one. What did you say your name was?"

"I didn't." He replied as he pulled back out into traffic.

"Are you just trying to be cute, or do you honestly refuse to tell me who you are?"

"I'm one of those Good Samaritans who actually prefers to remain anonymous." He answered. "And you _do_ need to get checked out a hospital, you have several hairline fractures of that left hip. Don't bother trying to fight me on it."

With every minute that passed, Katherine was coming back to herself, and feeling much more awake. But regardless, Monday was still staying pretty much a blur.

"Did I hit my head?" She asked him.

"No, but you did suffer from some shock relating to the trauma. You were unconscious for awhile. That's_ also _why I'm taking you to the hospital. Are you having difficulty remembering anything beyond yesterday? You know who you are, where you live, all the general stuff?"

"Yes, that's all there. Just not Monday."

He didn't say anything for the next couple of minutes while he was driving, and Katherine stared at him hard, trying to figure out if she'd seen him before. But there was absolutely no spark of recognition to be had. When they arrived at the emergency room entrance he stopped nearby, and went around her side to help her out of the car. She was surprised by the intensity of pain in body, groaning as she tried to straighten out completely.

"Easy, easy." Luke tried to soothe her. "I'll help get you inside."

They had made it a couple of steps when she cast a long lingering glance back at his Volvo, almost seemed to zone out for a moment. He snapped his fingers near her with some concern.

"Hey. Are you okay?" He asked her.

"Yes, sorry." She said immediately.

* * *

He got her into the building, and made sure that she was safetly settled in the waiting area.

"So you're okay? You've got your paperwork in hand?" He asked.

"I've got it."

"I'm sorry I have to leave you, but I have a couple of other patients I still need to get back to."

"You really won't tell me your name?" She tried once more.

"It has no significance."

"What are you, an angel or something?"

"I'm a _very_ tired man." He answered ruefully.

* * *

He felt somewhat guilty leaving her, but she was in the right place now, and would be absolutely fine. The longer he stayed, the more chance he had of being accidently identified, and he didn't want that to happen. Luke high-tailed it out of the hospital and returned to pick up his car, wiping sweat off of his forehead as he did. Luke was surprised by how nervous the whole situation had made him. He hadn't been _that_ rattled in a long time. It was amazing that he could handle a medical emergency without so much as a quiver, but when it came to hoodwinking a beautiful woman, it left him feeling like a jittery teenage boy again.

_Maybe this is why it's easier not to bother._


	17. Responsibility

Leonardo couldn't sleep late that morning, despite their difficult night. He had gone to perform some exercises just to settle his mind, but he still felt extremely troubled. This wasn't going to get it done. A little frustrated, he left the practice room and headed for his Master's quarters. He didn't want to bother him, but something seemed to be drawing him irresistibly in that direction, and he was tired of fighting it.

The door was partially ajar, so he glanced inside to see Splinter sitting up reading. His Sensei immediately glanced his direction.

"Come in my son."

"Hello Sensei."

Splinter put his book down, and motioned to the chair next to him. "Have a seat."

Leonardo did, trying to shake out his obvious nerves.

"Talk to me." Splinter gently requested.

"I don't really know how to say this," he answered after a second. "I'm sorry I haven't spent _more_ time here lately, I'm just...I guess I'm afraid."

"What is it that frightens you my son?"

"You want me to pick _one_ thing? Master...you've trained us for our whole lives. You brought me up to try and help lead the others, to keep things together. I've learned and grown in so many ways, but I _still_ feel like I'm lacking in too many others."

"Go on."

"Part of me is afraid that when we lose _you_, we're gonna lose _this_. That the clan is going to fall apart. I don't think I'm strong enough to keep it together on my own," he finished brokenly.

"Leonardo," Splinter said quietly. "No _one_ creature can maintain an entire family. You have often tended to take too much upon yourself. If the clan is to remain as it is now, it will take effort from every single one of you. Your responsibility does not lie in making certain that every piece lies in its correct position. It is your place to inspire, to comfort, and to protect. But do not dare to take the burden of single-handedly holding everything together; it will prove entirely too much for you.

" You do not lead by simply trying to maintain a measure of control over the others, or by forcing peace. There is a time for a firm touch, but because they are your _brothers_, you cannot lead them completely that way. This calls for a gentle, guiding, _patient_ hand. You have this ability Leonardo, I know that you do."

"I don't feel like I'm ready."

"Seldom do your emotions portray what you are _actually_ capable of my son. Have you not found this to often be the case? Last night for example."

"That was intense. But I wasn't in charge there Master, Donnie was the one who got us through it."

"He may have guided you, but you came through it together, because you all _worked_ together. It isn't always about who's in charge, do you understand? All of you must share the responsibility to stand as one."

* * *

Raphael was sitting in the living room waiting for Luke to get back, so he could find out how things went on the surface. He shifted his shoulder uncomfortably, regretting the torn muscle that was going to set him back for a little while. _Still too impulsive_, he thought morosely, glancing back behind him as he heard Mike come out of the kitchen.

"Hi bro. Brought you something hot, _and_ something cold," Mike said handing him some coffee, and a fresh icepack for his shoulder.

"Oh, thank you." He groaned.

"Hungry?"

"Do you _have_ to ask?"

"What'd you feel like?"

"I dunno...surprise me."

Donatello was just coming out of the Lab now too, eyes extremely heavy.

"Hey genius," Raphael spoke up. "Did you sleep at _all_?"

"Sort of." He flopped down in a chair while rubbing tired eyes.

"You don't look so good Donnie. Maybe you should go upstairs?" Mike suggested.

"I can't yet, I want to wait for Luke to get back."

"Want some coffee, breakfast?"

"Sure...um...I think I'll go check if Jenna's hungry."

"Stay Donnie, I'll handle it," Mike ordered him and went in the direction of his Lab.

* * *

Donatello dozed lightly in the easy chair for the next half an hour, actually managing to block out other noise, until Mike lightly tapped him."Hm?"

"Don, do you wanna eat? I just put together a tray for Jenna too."

"Lemme take it to her Mike, and then I'll come back and have something."

His brother handed it over, and Donatello returned to the Lab. Marcus had been continuing his vigil on Victoria's side of the room, and Jenna had been moved to the other bed after Luke had taken Katherine out. Marc caught Donatello's eye as he entered the room, throwing him a rather guilty look. Donnie stopped in his tracks when he saw the devastated look in _Jenna's_ eyes.

"How could you keep this from me?" she demanded.

"Um…?"

"You SAID you would tell me what was going on with Splinter! Now I have to hear it from _Marcus_ when I wasn't even prepared?!"

"Look Jen it wasn't...I didn't do it on purpose, alright? I didn't want to say much about his condition until we knew what we were dealing with. I didn't want you to be worried for nothing! When we figured out it was more serious, it all went down around the same time that..."

Her face softened slightly. "My dad died? Is that why you didn't tell me?"

"It just didn't feel like the right time. I'm _sorry_. I was going tell you."

"I wish you _would _have. It kinda feels like I've been sucker-punched. How sick is he Donnie?"

"His lungs are failing," he said after hesitating a long moment. "Master's Splinter is going through breathing treatments; they're just helping to..."

"Prolong him? How long? How long does he have Donnie?"

"Six or seven months, maybe."

Jenna collapsed against her pillow, tears immediately in her eyes. "Donnie, I feel like the whole world is spinning off its axis. How can this be happening? I am so sorry."

He didn't say anything right away, and she reached for his shoulder.

"What must you have been putting yourself through? I'd wager you've hardly left this room."

"I didn't, the first couple of weeks. I was pushing like crazy, night, day...hours on end, trying to find some answer. Right up until he told me stop."

"He _told_ you to?"

"Master Splinter said that he was at peace with it, that he was ready. The truth is, I think he figured that I would end up blaming myself if I couldn't fix it," he said shakily.

"So that's it then?"

"It will be, in a matter of time."

* * *

Luke was just returning to the Den, looking more tired than ever. He greeted Raphael in the living room, eyes lingering a moment on his breakfast.

"Dang, that smells good. I'm trying to decide whether I'm more _hungry_ or _tired_ at this moment. I think it's a toss up," Luke said wearily.

"How'd it go with Miss FBI?" Raph asked.

"Good, I think. She didn't even remember the building going up at first."

"Does she know her own name?"

Luke threw a pillow at him. "I'm going to check in with Marc, see how Victoria is. Don't eat all the food."

When he entered the Lab, Marcus greeted him with a big smile.

"_You_ look happy. What's up?" Luke asked.

"Her blood pressure is finally stable Luke. Things are looking up!"

Luke let out a giant breath he hadn't realized he was holding. "Well, that just makes my morning."

* * *

Editor's Note: Okay, show of hands - who _really_ thought I was going to kill off Victoria? C'mon people, I'm not heartless!


	18. Tiger

Editor's Note: Often I am inspired by normal life around me, and my week of pet-sitting contributed strongly to this chapter. I've never been a huge cat fan because they're normally so skittish/aloof if you don't know them. But one of the cats from that place is probably the absolute sweetest animal I've ever met, demanding attention more than most dogs I've taken care of. He was constantly curled up _with_ me or on _top_ of me, more than once sitting on my notebook as I was trying to write. Thus he was my inspiration for the following.

* * *

Jenna woke up again around mid-afternoon, startled to find an orange striped _cat_ curled up next to her on the bed. When she jerked in surprise the cat woke up and stretched languidly, staring her down with piercing yellow eyes. When she reached a hand towards the animal, the cat immediately nudged against it, purring loudly.

"Hello." She said curiously. "Where did _you _come from?"

Mike ducked his head into the Lab, just in time to hear her question.

"Hi. Looks like you made a friend." He laughed.

She glanced up from stroking the animal's head. "When did you guys get a cat?"

"We've only had her a couple of weeks. Raph rescued her from drowning, and Sensei said we could keep her. Her name's Tiger."

"I didn't know Raphael _liked_ cats."

"He doesn't - he just likes _her_."

Jenna laughed as the cat leaped off of the bed, directly onto Mike's shoulder.

"She's really friendly. We kinda freaked her out at first, but she got used to us really quick. She wants so much attention that she drives Donnie crazy sometimes. He'll be sitting at the computer trying to type, and she'll come and lay on the keyboard if he doesn't acknowledge her enough." He lightly rubbed the cat's head, and then nudged her back onto the bed.

"I'm usually more of a dog person, but she seems _really_ sweet. Hey, if she's a girl why didn't you name her _Tigris_?"

"You know how stubborn Raph is." Mike said, stopping as Tiger nipped at Jenna's exposed toes. She laughed and drew them back under the covers out of the way of the cats' roving paws. "Knock that off Tiger." He reprimended severely. "Is she gonna bother you? I can get her out of here."

"No it's okay, you can leave her be." Jenna said, sitting up suddenly straighter when she heard Victoria stirring across the room.

Mike's heart nearly skipped a beat - he hadn't had a one on one with the woman yet. He ventured over to her to see if she was really waking up.

"Mrs. Richards?" He said questioningly, and she turned towards him, focusing dark green eyes.

"Victoria." She corrected dryly.

"I hope we didn't wake you." He said apologetically.

She managed a smile for him. "Should I be disappointed? I'm grateful to be _alive_. I..._we_ owe you everything."

He shook his head with a wide grin. "Nah. That's not how things really work with us."

"So wait, which one are you?"

"Name's Michelangelo, but only Sensei calls me that. You can just call me Mike."

"Ah, you're the funny one."

"The what?"

"Jenna has told me a bit about all of you. She said you make her laugh more than anyone she knows."

"I sure hope I can live up to that title without trying too hard. I really no good in this department though, I probably should go grab one of the Docs."

"So there _were_ two of them?"

"Yeah, Luke and Marcus, though you'll probably hear us call one of 'em Doc and not the other. It's a little less confusing that way."

Victoria was gazing around the room for the first time, hardly knowing where to look first.

"What is this place?"

"It's Donnie's Lab. This is where he works, and where all the sick and or hurt ones get to stay."

"Then this is your home."

"Part of it anyway." Mike told her.

As he finished, Tiger had gotten tired of scaling over Jenna, and now was sauntering across the room to meet Victoria. The woman laughed when she jumped up on the bed beside her, then groaned at the pain it caused in her rib-cage. Mike swiftly scooped Tiger up in his arms, but Victoria waved a weak hand at him.

"It's okay, this is _good_ pain. Who's this?"

"Tiger. She's really nice, but I don't want her to accidently hurt you."

"Tiger huh? She must be a tame one." She remarked as the cat started purring when he ran a hand down her back.

"I think Raph _was_ being a little ambitious with that name." Mike admitted.

"Raphael? Now he's..."

"Second oldest. And Tiger here is living proof that a guy can be as tough as nails, and still have a heart. Raph sacrificed his phone to the water gods to save her life."

"So then there's Leonardo, right?"

"The guy in blue, he's the oldest, and our fearless leader. He's been driving me on since I had baby teeth. It's a tough job, but I 'spose someone has to do it."

"Then where are we, right now?"

"Under New York City." He said simply.

"No kidding?" She looked around again. "I wouldn't have guessed."

"Take a step outside our Den, and it becomes apparent rather quickly. Welcome to our home."

Victoria blinked rapidly, and then shook her head. "This feels like a dream, but I don't want it to be. Is this the same place where you were Jen, when you were rescued that first time?"

"This is it alright, and it's where I've been back to every time since." Jenna replied.

"I want to hear it again." Victoria said.

"Hear what Mom?"

"About the first time you met."

"I've told you this already, just last night." Jenna protested.

"Well I was half out of it at the time. I want to hear it again - I'm your Mother, I have that right."

"You have to admit it was an interesting night." Mike said.

"Yes, getting _stuck_ with Raphael when he was angry as he was clueless, that was interesting." Jenna remarked.

* * *

Six Years Earlier

"Okay, but why do _I_ have to babysit the kid?" Raphael was demanding of his older brother as he was getting ready to walk out the door.

"Because Sensei asked me to go meet April and her friend. Now could you reign in the attitude a little bit, and just be nice to her?"

"Be _nice_ to her? Leo, what am I supposed to _do_ with her?"

"Try talking, find some common ground."

"She's a human _girl. _What exactly do you think we have in common Fearless?"

"I don't know, just turn on the TV for all I care. Just make sure she's comfortable, and don't go off scaring her or anything."

"You wanna trade jobs here, let me go up to April's place? You're better that this junk than I am."

"For the last time Raph,_ I'm _going, _you're_ staying, and you'd _better_ be nice to her! Now I have to go."

* * *

Raphael grumbled something darkly under his breath as he walked back into the living area, where Jenna was sitting on the couch with legs crossed and obvious apprehension.

"I guess we're stuck with each other for awhile. Don't _look_ at me like that kid, I ain't gonna hurt you." He said with some irritation.

"Then do me a favor and don't call me _kid_ either. I'm 17." She said a little more strongly.

"Whatever floats your boat. So what can I turn on that you'll watch, but isn't gonna bore me to death?"

"I really don't care." She replied indifferently.

"Sure you do, _everybody_ cares. Just please don't ask me to turn on the _Hills_ or some junk like that."

"Gag me with a yardstick."

"That's comforting to hear, but I'm still waiting for a suggestion."

"As long as it doesn't feature a celebrities 'real life', death defying stunts of stupidity, or celebrities _performing_ death defying stunts of stupidity, I'm pretty open." She answered.

He had a hard time holding in a smile at that. Maybe this girl wasn't so bad after all.

He found something on TV that they could both live with, but really wasn't watching the TV very much. He was torn by anxiety for Donatello, and guilt for how he and Leo had drove him off that afternoon. At the same time, he was fascinated with the teenager sitting across from him.

Jenna caught him glancing at her again, and threw her hands up with a sigh.

"What? Why do you keep looking at me like that?"

"Sorry." He replied. "This is just really different than anything we've ever done before."

"You've never met a girl before?"

"Not like _this_." He emphasized. "And you're not really what I expected."

"If you've never met one, how would you know what to expect?"

"I don't know...I guess from like TV...the Hills?"

She laughed. "I'm going to try _not _to take that as an insult, but you better quit while you're ahead."

"Seriously though, it's just sort of shocking to me that you stayed with Donnie after he went down. I think it takes a pretty strong person to do that." He said slowly.

"He saved my life, it wasn't like I could just walk away. Besides, where was I going to go? I would have been lost in about five seconds down here."

"Something tells me you could have found a way out."

"Now you think you know me?" She had asked with a half smile.


	19. Guilt & Intrigue

Donatello returned to the Lab after getting a few hours of real sleep, and was surprised to find Luke looking after the ladies.

"Hey Doc, when are ya gonna give it a rest?"

"I had four hours Donnie, I'm good."

"I don't get how you keep this up. I know I had more sleep than you, and I _still_ feel like I've been through a wringer."

"_I_ wasn't fighting my way through a collapsing firepit last night." Luke reminded him.

"There is that I guess. How's everybody doin' in here?" Donatello asked, casting a smile in Jenna's direction, and then a much more timid one towards Victoria.

"We're doing just fine," Jenna said lightly. "But I've been waitin' on you mate, get over here."

He came over to her level, blushing a little when she kissed him in front of her Mom.

"She's going to have to get used to seein' it, right?" Jenna laughed.

Donatello gave her a look, and straightened back upright to greet Victoria.

"Ma'am. You're looking better already."

"Yeah, it's funny how much we need our blood, isn't it?" She cracked with a smile.

"Can't live without it. I'm _really_ glad you're going to be alright."

"So am I, because now I can make _sure_ you treat my girl right." Victoria answered tongue-in-cheek.

"Mother!" Jenna nearly exploded.

"_Somebody _has to Jen." Donnie said with a small laugh. "I sure haven't been listening much to anyone else lately, _including_ you."

"I'm sorry, would the _two_ of you like to be alone while you discuss my future with you?"

"That's okay honey, we'll just talk in front of you." Victoria teased her, and Jenna groaned.

"I can't remember why I wanted you to know them so much." She said sarcastically.

Donatello figured it was time to steer the conversation in a little more serious direction. "Kidding _aside_, I know I've been kind of a bonehead through the years...from time to time. But I told Jenna earlier on today that I wasn't going to push her away again. This is her choice, and she gets to make it."

"That seems rather fair. But does this mean that I get to be in your club, or am I going to disappear like that Katherine woman did?" Victoria asked.

Luke stiffened when he heard her name, some guilt still plaguing him.

_It was the right thing_, he told himself fiercely again. _It had to be done. She's FBI for heaven's sake! It was too much of a risk, and she's fine, I didn't hurt her. Why would she want to remember that awful experience anyway? I had flashbacks just being on the outside, waiting to hear anything from the guys. Why am I even still thinking about her? She's __fine__, now move on with your life Barrows!_

Luke looked up abruptly, suddenly realizing that the others were staring at him expectantly.

"Sorry, did you say something to me?" He asked of no one in particular.

"I asked where you took Katherine." Donatello replied.

"I thought about St. Joseph's, but I didn't want somebody else to recognize me and give it away. Can we not talk about her? She's doing fine. I just want to pretend like she was never even here."

"Sounds a little harsh." Jenna commented.

"No, I don't mean it like...we just took a big chance, that's all. Now she's gone, and she doesn't remember you guys, which was the whole point. Can we move on to something else?"

Jenna gave him a funny look, but didn't say anything else.

"I'm going to go check on your Sensei." Luke announced. "I'll be back in a few."

When he was gone, Jenna directed a pointed look at Donatello.

"What?" He asked her.

"Didn't that seem a little _strange_ to you?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. We were _all_ under a lot of pressure last night, and he hasn't had much sleep."

"Yeah, but he wants to pretend she was never _here_? It sounds like she got under his skin."

"She was unconscious the entire time she was down here, Doc made sure of it."

"But she_ wasn't _out of it when he took her to the hospital."

"No, you're right there. He had to make sure she was well enough for him to leave her alone at the ER. That didn't leave a lot of time for conversation though."

"It doesn't always _take_ a lot of time." Victoria spoke up.

"I'm not_ assuming _anything Don, it's just kinda weird to see Doc flustered that way. Might be a first for me." Jenna finished.

* * *

Splinter didn't need anything right that moment, but seemed to immediately sense that something was off with Luke.

"Would you like to sit down?" He asked him.

"No...no." He answered, pacing up and down over the floor. "I just need to get this junk out of my head."

"Talking about it would most likely help you." He suggested.

"I don't see how it could. I'm sure it's just guilt. I've never done something like this before, I feel like I _stole_ something from her. I only did it to protect _them_, it was the best thing I could come up with at the time."

"And she was not harmed."

"No! So why in the heck can't I stop thinking about her?"

"I do not know Dr. Barrows. Perhaps you should be asking _yourself_ that question."

"It doesn't matter, it's over. I wouldn't tell her who I was, she's just going to move on with her life like none of this ever happened. For all she knows, it never _did_."

"But _you_ know better."

"Y'know, I don't really feel like you're helping me very much." Luke said with a half smile in his direction.

"I am _trying_ to help you discover what is actually bothering you. You will have to give her some thought in order to do that."

"I don't know what it is Master Splinter. I guess I looked at her differently the second I found out she doubled back to help the guys, even though she _knew_ they weren't human. What kind of person risks their life for someone they can't even identify?"

"She did." Splinter said simply.

"I suppose that's what's getting to me. She would have paid the ultimate price to warn them, and I didn't even give her a chance to remember any of it. I believe I did what I had to, but it _still_ makes me feel like a heel. It was so ridiculous, I wouldn't even tell her my name."

"Well, you know how to find _her_."

Luke laughed out loud at the thought.

"No way am I going there. I just feel guilty right now, that's all. I'll get over it, and forget about her soon enough."

"Will you?"


	20. Bad Penny

One week passed quietly without any significant events, other than the looming threat of war on several fronts. Underground they were slightly removed from what was going on, and watching the news on TV certainly didn't make anyone feel better regardless. Victoria had been seamlessly integrated into the family unit, and was thoroughly enjoying every second of getting to know the guys that Jenna had traveled half-way across the globe for so many times.

Luke was just getting ready to head back to his own apartment, for the first time since the bombing. As he fingered through his keys, he made a small wave to Leonardo.

"Alright, I'm just going to grab a few things from my place. Do you want me to pick up anything?"

"I'm pretty sure we're in good shape - remember April shopped for us a couple days ago, before she had to leave New York?"

"Oh, right. Then I'll just be back in a bit, okay?"

* * *

Luke picked up his Volvo and drove back towards the parking garage nearby his building. He ran up to his apartment, dropping his keys directly back in his pocket after getting the door open. He dropped onto the couch to sift through the week's worth of mail, and then grabbed his laptop to take back underground with him. After zipping it up in the carrying case, he went back to his bedroom to get some more clothes together. He had been there for about half an hour, when he heard a knock at the door. He trotted back out to the living room, wondering if April had come back early.

When he opened the door, he definitely wasn't prepared to see a bronze haired_ Katherine _standing outside in the hall. Luke was unable to hold back a wide-eyed stare, and it was a couple of seconds before he found his voice at all.

"What are you _doing_ here?" He finally demanded.

She shifted uncomfortably on her crutches. "Hi. Can I come in?"

Luke's gaze darted up and down the hallway, as if expecting men to swoop in on him at any moment. With a bit of a scowl, he waved a hand over his shoulder. "_Get in here_."

She hobbled inside, and he pointed her to the couch to get off of her feet.

"How did you find me?" He asked sternly.

"At the hospital, when I got out of your car, I memorized your license plate number." She replied.

He sighed heavily. "Why'd you have to push the issue? What do you _want_ from me?"

"I want the truth." She said earnestly.

"I already told you Agent James. I treated you outside the UN, and I brought you to the hospital. I wasn't even inside that building, so I don't know what else you think I can tell you. I don't know what happened in there."

"See Dr. Barrows, the problem is you're entirely too nervous. If that was all there was to it on _your_ end, your knee wouldn't be shaking right now."

"I can't help you." He said stoically. "I wish I could."

Her expression was absolutely indiscernable to him.

"Do you know that feeling, when you're trying really hard to remember something that just won't come to you? Sometimes the best thing to do is to stop straining. It's as if our brains continue sifting through information, even when we're not _consciously_ searching for it. More often than not, that's when I remember things - when I stop trying.

I've been having flashbacks Doctor. Visions that seem stranger than any dream I've ever had, only I'm awake when I have them. They've been coming several times a day, and they're _all_ from inside the UN. It would be easy to write it off as being related to some kind of trauma, but I keep seeing the _same _thing." She hesitated for an instant, and the looked at him squarely.

"I thought it was strange, missing a whole day in action like that. I asked my doctor to run a tox-screen on my blood, and with my clearance, he got a rush on it. The only thing he found was diazaprol. He explained that it was a strong sedative, not often used, but it didn't seem to alarm him at all. I wasn't so sure. I thought I was having some kind of bad reaction, so I decided to research it myself, since I'd never heard of it. They insisted on keeping me in that hospital, so I didn't exactly have anything better to do.

I found out how it can effect the short-term memory center, that it can effectually wipe out the most recent memories, without harming information outside of the immediate circumstances. I think it's ingenious actually, and that was what drove me to read further about Marie Barrows, and how she spent half of her_ career _on it. I started looking her up in every database imaginable, learning about her, her husband, her _son_. I must have spent close to eight hours on the laptop that day.

What I absolutely wasn't expecting came up the next day, when I finally plugged your license plate into our BMV records, and found out that _you_ were Luke Barrows. You could have knocked me over with a feather. One day I'm reading your life story, the next day I find out you're the Samaritan who helped save me."

She could tell that she really had him nervous now.

"I don't want to seem ungrateful, but I have to know what I'm missing here. Something significant happened in that building, and I _know_ you're hiding it from me. I'm just here for the truth." Katherine told him.

Luke unconsciously ran a hand through his blond hair, pacing a few steps in front of the couch.

"I told you, okay? I _can't_ help you, I'm sorry. I think it would be better if you just left."

She studied his posture a few seconds longer, and pulled a folded up paper out of her pocket.

"I wanna show you something. This is what I keep seeing. Here, take it." She urged, and Luke smoothed the paper out flat.

It was a drawing, little more than a rough sketch, but impressive in its' rendering. He couldn't stop his eyes from expressing how terrified seeing one of the guys' likeness captured that way made him feel. He swallowed hard and struggled to put on a strong front.

"Am I supposed to know what this is?" He asked.

"It seems like you do." She answered coolly.

His eyes narrowed in anger as he gave the paper back to her.

"I'm finished, you understand? I have absolutely nothing to say to you. _Please_ get out of my apartment."

"I can't do that Dr. Barrows." She said quietly. "I'm not going _anywhere_, not until I get to the bottom of this."

"Would you like me to call the police?" He threatened.

"If you really want them mixed up in all this, that's your call. But you might want to remember what kind of badge _I_ carry."

"Is that supposed to be some kind of threat?"

"Call it a warning. I can make things very difficult for you Doctor, though I really don't want to. What's it gonna be? Are you gonna call them, or can we deal with this like civilized people?"

He paused for a long moment, and a hardened look of determination came over him.

"I'm not telling you anything. I don't care what you do to me. Call the Feds, have 'em lock me up and throw away the key. You'll never get a thing out of me, I _promise_ you that."


	21. Stalemate

Luke had been sitting across from that blasted woman for a good half hour, without a single word passing between them. He hated that piercing look in her amber eyes, hated the way her hair fell across her forehead.

_Stop thinking about her hair you moron_, he chidded himself, and forced the hardened expression to return. He was terrified, but trying desperately not to show it. Not that it mattered, this woman seemed to see directly through him anyway. How long could his pulse actually keep racing this way? He was on such an edge that he nearly jumped a mile when his phone vibrated.

Luke quickly recovered, and glanced down at the screen. Leonardo. He considered letting it go, but this could be the last opportunity that he had to talk to him. Swiftly decided, he snapped it open.

"Hey Leo, hang on a second, alright?" He said quickly, and put his hand over the speaker. Then he fixed a steely gaze on Katherine. "_Stay_ here." He ordered, and stalked out of the room to take the phone call.

The moment he left her sight, Katherine practically dove into her purse to find her ear-piece. With the correct frequency she could pick up his sound waves from the next room.

* * *

"Hey Doc, everything alright up there? You've been gone awhile, did you decide to stay up top tonight?"

"Not exactly Leo, I'm having a problem here. That woman ya'll met in the building, she found me, hunted me down through my license plate. Now she's _here_ demanding answers. She's been having flashbacks of you guys, so she won't give it a rest, and I can't get her to leave."

"Holy cow Doc! Are you okay? What does she know?"

"She doesn't _know_ anything, because I won't tell her! I don't know what's going to happen here, but I don't want you guys to worry. She's got absolutely no proof that you exist, just a drawing from inside her head."

"Can't you use some kind of medical jargon to explain it, or make up some story about what happened?"

"I _can't_ lie to her Leo, she sees right through it! She's better at this than I am. Please don't panic, your secret is safe, and I'm...I'm sure I'll be fine."

"Doc, we're not gonna_ let _you burn for us."

"Just hang tight. I'll call you back, I don't like leaving her alone out there."

* * *

Katherine tore the piece out of her ear and shoved it back in her purse as Luke came back into the room. Her own heart was slightly pounding now from what she'd heard on Luke's end of the conversation. She reigned in the emotion, and immediately forced a placid look in Luke's direction. He sat back down across from her, arms folded across his chest protectively.

"Is this all we're going to do now?" She ventured. "It's kind of a waste of time, don't you think?"

"You're free to leave the second that you're ready." He shot back.

"You're a mystery to me Luke. Do you mind if I call you that?"

"You have no problem invading my privacy or threatening me with your badge, why should it matter what you call me?"

"Your IQ registers at a genius level. You started college at 16, graduated at the top of your class."

"What's your point? My parents were _brilliant_, they handled all of my schooling up until then. I don't consider myself to be a genius, just a product of my environment. You read a few records, and now you think that you _know_ me?"

"Just making conversation, since you don't want to talk about last Monday. You could have gone into any field that you wanted, an incredible number of doors opened up for you. You chose the ER."

"Emergency Room is where I fit." He said shortly.

"I find it interesting that your parents moved to New York to be close to you."

"They _didn't_." He negated sharply. "It came up when I was looking into Med School, and they were ready for a change too."

"So you moved to a brownstone in Chelsea, continuted your experimentation with them in addition to your education."

"I don't see what this has to do with anything."

"It must have been very hard for you to lose them."

"Stop it." He ordered angrily. "You didn't know _them_, and you don't know _me_."

She was about to say something else, when there was a firm knock at the balcony door, and Luke shot upright to his feet.

"Did that come from your balcony?" Katherine asked him.

"It's probably just some dumb kid, they play on the fire escapes. Stay here!" He commanded her, dashing across the room. He barely opened the door wide enough to get out, and slammed it shut behind him.

* * *

"What in the name of all that is holy are you _doing_ here?" Luke demanded of Leonardo and Raphael.

"I told you Doc, we're not letting you go down for us. We did some fast talking, and decided it would be better to just come out with it." Leo told him evenly.

"Are you _crazy_?!"

"You didn't see her in there Doc." Raphael said calmly. "She risked her life for us. She swore to me she wouldn't sell us out, and believe me, she had the chance to totally screw us over if she wanted to. I was really nervous about her at the time too, but now...Doc, I think she's okay, I really do."

"You guys can't do this, it's too risky!"

"You're not gonna stop us Doc. We'll break down the door if we have to. We're _here_ now, so let's just get this over with." Leonardo said firmly, and Luke closed his eyes for a few seconds.

"This is nuts." He said wearily. "_Alright, _whatever."

He walked back into the apartment, waving at them to wait a minute.

"What the heck is going on?" Katherine asked him.

"Against _my_ better judgement, your rescuers have decided that they want to meet you for themselves. So just...stay comfortable where you are, and prepare yourself." He said rather unhappily. "C'mon in guys."

She sat up further on the couch, chills of recognition running down her spine when the two creatures revealed themselves under the door frame. She stared for a few seconds, amazed, but not entirely shocked. She _remembered_ them.

"Alright sweetheart," The red-banded one said flatly. "What's it gonna take to get you to leave Luke alone?"

"I...I knew it. I knew I wasn't crazy. I _remember_...some of it anyway. You don't exist." She finally said with a wry smile, and then tears unexpectedly rose in her eyes. "Who are you? And don't say _nobody_."


	22. Follow Through

They spent the following hour with Katherine, recounting their entire shared experience inside the UN. As Leonardo and Raphael went back and forth, Katherine occasionally interjected something. She was starting to put more of the pieces together as they went along, nodding emphatically in places. By the time they had gotten through the whole story, she seemed completely at ease with them, as if she'd known them for a year. Luke hadn't said a word the entire time, silently fuming as he watched them.

"Thank you for coming here - I know it wasn't easy to do." Katherine told them. "There are so many things that I'd like to ask you, but I'm not going to, not now anyway. Maybe when I've _proved_ myself a little bit. I hope I have the chance to."

The guys looked at each for a split second, their glance revealing nothing.

"We'll see." Leonardo said evenly. "For now we should probably get out of here." Then he cast a look back at Luke apologetically. "Sorry for dropping in like this Doc."

The man shrugged. "It's your life, it's your choice. I _will_ be down later, when I get finished with all this."

After they were gone Katherine finally met his look, actually wincing under his fiery glare.

"All I can say is...wow." She said.

When he didn't say anything back to her, she cleared her throat uncomfortably.

"I understand that you're nervous about me Luke, I _do_. But this isn't the FBI investigating you, turning up at your doorstep. It's_ just _me. I'm sorry that I came like this without any warning, I just didn't know how else to do it. You were so evasive in the car, I didn't think you would readily meet with me if I called you. So when I got out of the hospital I started watching your building, waiting for you to come around." Here she hesitated for a moment. "You really _would_ have gone to prison for them."

"In a heartbeat." He said flatly. "But that's all _moot _now."

"Do you honestly think I did all of this secretly on my own, just so I could run with it back to the Federal Government?"

"I don't _know_ Katherine." He said with a serious edge. "I don't know the first thing about you, except that you work for the FBI, and now you hold the key to one of the most important, most _vulnerable_ parts of my life. I don't see how I can possibly _begin_ to trust you. But I am going to ask you to leave again, because I'd really like to get out of here myself."

"You don't spend much time here, do you Luke?"

"Quit trying to make this about_ me_. We've already gotten a whole lot more personal tonight than I ever wanted to. On that note, would you please just cooperate with me a little?"

"I realize that this is hard on you, and I meant it when I said that I was sorry. I'm not going to do anything to put them at risk Luke." She finished as she used her crutches to help rise to her feet. "I hope in time, you'll learn to trust me."

"Right now, the only thing ringing in my ears is how difficult you said you could make this on me."

"I was bluffing Luke. I would no sooner set you up for something, than I would have gone to my own people with that little drawing I made."

"You might be able to see right through my bull Katherine, but I don't share that ability."

"All I'm asking for is a chance. I'd like to see if we could be friends."

He actually laughed. "Friends...boy, I don't even know what to think of that right now. You wield an awful sharp sword that I'm not sure I want near me."

"Alright, well, if you change your mind..." She reached into her purse for a business card, and swiftly copied another number down onto it. "This is my personal cell, I don't normally give it out. If you change your mind, call me."

After closing the door behind her he nearly crumpled it up, but something stayed his hand.

_First time I've gotten a woman's number in about a decade. Maybe I should keep it for posterity's sake._

He stuffed it into his wallet and finished getting clothes together. As he headed back downstairs, his mind was already spinning again.

_I sure hope this doesn't come back to bite them. But what proof does she have that they exist anyway? Even if she did come forward with it, her word is all she could give them. I'm not going to be able to let them come up here anymore, that's for sure. I can't take the chance that she might be watching again._

* * *

Jenna and Donatello had just finished watching a movie on a regular network. Donnie stretched for a couple seconds, and then scooped up their glasses off the coffee table.

"I'm gonna drop these in the kitchen. Can I get you anything else?"

"No, thanks."

He disappeared, and the 11:00pm news started on the channel they'd been watching. Jenna started to tune it out, but then couldn't help being drawn in by one of the lead-ins to a story coming up. Donatello came back into the living area, and started to pick up the remote.

"Hey babe, could you leave it here for a minute?" Jenna asked him.

"Sure." He sat back down with her on the couch. "Something catch your eye?"

"Sort of."

They sat through the weather report, and news on the deteriorating situation between nations, before the story she was really interested in came on. Donnie turned up the volume, and cast a small glance her direction as it started.

"Just over one week has passed since the devastating attack on the United Nations, that has left over 600 confirmed dead, and another 400 still missing. Our story tonight focuses on those families who still received no word, and retain very little hope for being reunited with loved ones..."

Near the end of the report, there was a phone number offered for anyone with information regarding the living or deceased, and Jenna suddenly sat up straighter.

"Don, can you get that down for me?"

He darted off the couch to grab his notebook, and quickly scribbled down the numbers for her. Then he ripped off the page and handed it over with some curiosity.

"You can turn that thing off now, I don't really wanna hear anything else." Jenna told him.

"What's this about Jen?"

"A girl that I met a few days ago at that stupid Ball. Her parents are Diplomats too, to South Africa. We spent most of that day together at the UN." Jenna answered, and then took a deep breath. "We were in the same room when the bombs went off. When I woke up and started searching for survivors, she was the only one that had lingered. She was dying when I found her, and there was _nothing_ I could do for her. She asked me to tell her parents that she loved them...and then she was gone. She was so young, so beautiful...she didn't deserve to die like that. _No one _did." Jenna finished pointedly with tears.

Donnie drew her closer to him. "I'm sorry."

"I took something off of her, a necklace, hoping that I might be able to give it back to her parents, _if _they're alive."

"And that's why you wanted the number."

"Yes. What do I have to lose? I may as well try to find them. I don't relish the idea of breaking that kind of news to_ anyone_, but it's better for them than not knowing at all, isn't it?"

He nodded mutely, and she leaned back into his arms for support.

"I'm still not convinced it really happened. Part of me thinks I'm going to wake up, and find out it was just a terrible dream. Not my Mom knowing about you of course...that's really the only good thing that I see out of all this."


	23. Closure

The next morning Jenna bolstered herself to make the phone call, and simply get it over with. She was relieved to find out that Carrie's parents were alive, and that they had supplied their contact information for anyone with news about their daughter. Jenna bit her lip in consternation, and slowly dialed the number the hotline had provided her with. A man answered on the third ring.

"This is Tom."

"Mr. Ambassador?" Jenna said questioningly. "I'm not sure if you'll remember me. My name is Jenna, Jenna Richards. My mother is Victoria?"

"Yes, uh...the representative to Australia. I met you and your mother at the event, the night before the Summit."

"I'm sorry to bother you sir, but I was wondering if it would be possible for us to meet."

He didn't say anything for a few seconds. "Is this about Carrie?"

"Yes sir, it is." She said as evenly as she could manage.

He let out a breath he had been holding. "Okay um...the sooner the better as far as I'm concerned. When can we do this?"

"I'm open, I just need to get a ride is all."

"Can you be at the Falcon, maybe around noon?"

"I'll meet you at the front desk." She said, and hung up with him a few moments later, choking back emotion. She checked her pocket again to make sure that she still had the locket, and then got her feet slowly with the aid of her own crutches.

Jenna hobbled across the living room back to the Lab, where Luke was typing something up on a computer.

"Hey Doc, can I ask you a favor?"

He turned from the screen to face her. "Yeah, what's up?"

"Do you think you could take me to the Gold Falcon in awhile? I just talked to my friend's dad, I'm supposed to meet them there."

"Of course. Are you going to be alright?"

"Ask me again when this is over with."

* * *

She got ready over the course of the next hour, and Luke drove her to the hotel. He stopped near the front doors and gave her an encouraging look.

"Are you sure you want to do this alone? I could come with you." He suggested.

"I'll be fine Doc, but thanks."

"I'll stay in the neighborhood, maybe go get something to eat. Take your time, don't rush...call me when you're ready for me to come get you."

"I will. Thanks again."

He came over and got the door open, giving her a hand off of the seat. Luke made sure that she got inside alright, and then returned to pick up his car. Jenna made her way to the front desk, and leaned against the counter to keep the weight off of her ankle. She didn't have to wait long before the Ambassador and his wife Andrea came around the corner. When she spotted them she immediately straightened up and forced a smile.

"Miss Richards." Tom said with a little surprise. "You didn't tell me you were injured."

"Oh, I'm alright." She tried to assure them, but knew the fresh stitches in her forehead had to be standing out like a sore thumb. "Or I will be anyway."

"Let's at least get you off your feet." Andrea offered, and they led her to a table in the back of the Lounge.

"I wish you would have told me you weren't well. We didn't have to do this so quickly." Tom said when they were seated.

"I don't feel as I've got a right to complain." Jenna said honestly. "And I'm not here to talk about me."

Tom and Andrea exchanged a glance, and then looked back at her.

"We're already expecting the worst Miss Richards..." Andrea trailed off.

"Call me Jenna, please."

"We prefer that you would just tell us outright. Did you see Carrie?" Tom asked her.

"Yes," She answered a little strained. "We were in the same room when everything happened. I got hit pretty hard, blacked out. I don't remember any of the explosions. I woke up a few minutes later, and my mom was nearby. She was hurt worse than me, couldn't move around at all. I managed to free her, started looking around for survivors, and tried to find a way out."

Jenna stopped for a few seconds, as if reliving the moment right then, tears rising in her eyes. "It was...it's indescribable, what that felt like. You were there too, so I realize it isn't necessary for me to try. Carrie was awake when I found her, she recognized me. I tried to tell her it was going to be okay, that she just needed to hang on. But she couldn't...she just couldn't." Jenna stopped again to compose herself. "The _only_ thing she asked me to do was to tell you that she loved you. You were all she was thinking of."

All three were crying now, Tom and Andrea were clinging to one another. After a couple of minutes had passed, Jenna pulled it together enough to get the necklace out of her pocket.

"I um...I thought you might like to have something. I took this off of her, hoping I could get it to you." Jenna said, placing the gold locket in the middle of the table.

Andrea couldn't hold in a sob as she reached for it, lightly fingering the metal.

"Thank you." She whispered. "Thank you for coming to us. We knew...we knew she had to be gone. But hearing it from you exactly as it was, somehow it feels better just to _know_."

"I'm so sorry. I wish there was something more I could have done, that I could have gotten her out of there with us."

"Don't apologize Jenna." Tom said quietly. "We're so grateful for the closure. How is your mother, how badly was she hurt?"

"She nearly died, it was so close. I'm sure she would have, and I would have too, if we hadn't been rescued."

"We were lucky, if you can call it that." Andrea said. "We were on the side furthest from the impact, walked out on our own two feet. Did it take very long for anyone to get to you?"

"In a way, we were lucky too. I managed to get one phone call out to my boyfriend, so he'd know that we were alive. He and his brothers came in after us, following a beacon's signal I've got implanted inside my watch. We were seriously trapped, there was so much debris, I know we couldn't have gotten out alone. They saved our lives."

"That's incredible." Andrea said breathlessly. "Must be _some_ boyfriend."

"He is," Jenna answered quietly. "He really is."

"I'm relieved to hear that your mother survived. Is she still in the hospital?" Tom asked.

"No, she's uh...she's actually been under private care. She's doing alright now, still recovering."

* * *

They lingered for a few more minutes, and Jenna politely declined their invitation for lunch. She couldn't even think about stomaching food right now. She called Luke to let him know she was ready for him, and Tom and Andrea walked her back out through the lobby of the hotel. Both embraced her in turn before she went outside.

"Keep in touch?" Andrea requested.

"I will, and I'll ask my Mom to call you."

"Just when she's really feeling up to it. Thank you for coming here Jenna...this really does help, more than you know." Tom told her.


	24. The Jig is Up

Luke hadn't been himself for a couple of days, and everybody could see it. Marcus had to return to work, and didn't have the necessary time to devote to dragging anything out of him. On the other hand, Donatello had a little more free time.

Four days had passed since the guys had reintroduced themselves to Katherine, and Luke was still in an obvious funk. Donatello managed to coax him into their Lounge to listen to something new of his own, and took the opportunity alone to try and get him to talk too.

"So Doc." He said casually as he put down his favorite acoustic. "What's going _on_ in that head of yours? You've been really different the last few days."

"A lot has been going on Donnie, a lot of changes. I've been preoccupied with Victoria, and getting Jenna to stay off her feet is almost a full time job in itself."

"Doc, I don't think those two are what's effecting you this way. I think your head is still wrapped around _another_ chick."

"Donnie I don't really want to go over this."

"I know you don't Doc. If it's any consolation, I know exactly how you feel - I've had stuff dragged out of me like wild horses over a girl too if you remember."

"It's not like that Don, I'm just concerned about the whole situation. It has me all tied up in knots."

"She was _already_ bugging you before she ever looked you up Luke."

"That was different - that was just guilt. I felt badly for drugging her."

"Do you really believe that, or are you trying to convince yourself as much as you are me?"

Luke shook his head in serious irritation.

"I don't _get_ what's going on with me Donnie. I _know_ how to control my emotions, I know how to mask things. Now lately it's like I'm an open book, and I can't hide a single thing. When that woman was in my apartment, I felt more naked than I have in my entire life. Here she was a complete stranger, stripping me down to _nothing_, totally getting inside of my head. I've never known anyone that could get to me so fast, that could get me so ruffled.

So yeah, she bothered me, she's _still_ bothering me. As far as anything further..._c'mon _Donnie, I hardly know her. Ya'll spent more time with her in that building than I really have."

"Doc, I _saw_ the way you looked at her that night. Can you honestly say you're not attracted to her?"

"That wasn't attraction, that was pity."

Donatello shook his head at his human friend.

"You're reminding me an awful lot of myself right now Luke."

"Can we drop this please?"

"Okay," He answered with some resignation. "But take it from me Doc...ignoring it doesn't _make_ it go away."

* * *

Marcus had only been at St. Joseph's for a little over an hour when there was a knock at his office door. He got up to answer it, and was surprised to see two uniformed officers.

"Um...can I help you?"

"Are you Dr. Sloan?" One of them asked.

"Yes, I am. What's going on?"

"Sir, we're going to need you to come with us."

"Wait, what is this about?"

"We have a few questions that need answering, concerning a theft out of Manhattan General."

His heart could have stopped altogether.

"Am I under arrest?"

"We'll forgo the cuffs if you come peacefully. No reason to cause a scene." The other told him with a maddeningly calm tone.

His heart was now racing so fast it felt like it would beat out of his chest.

"Okay." He said nervously. "Okay, I'm coming."

* * *

Marcus hadn't said a word since hearing his rights in the car. As he was being guided through the Precinct, he suddenly spotted a wretchedly familiar face. The man cast him a rather smug look as Marcus was escorted by him, and it was all the doctor could do not to lunge directly at him.

David Lewis. The man used to work internal security at St. Joseph's, _used _to as in he'd been fired over two years prior for impropriety occurring _inside_ Marc's office. He had no clue how long it had been going on, but Marcus had actually been accompanied by one of the hospital board members the day that David had finally been caught. The man had always believed that Marcus somehow set him up to get caught, and he'd received several nasty threats after David was fired. Everything had settled down awhile ago, so what was he doing here _now_?

As he was being directed into one of the fish tanks (as he had so jokingly referred to interrogation rooms for years) one of the officers sat down across from him.

"Before we get started, I need to remind you of your right to counsel--"

"How about you just tell me what's going on?" Marcus interrupted.

"It's your prerogative to proceed without a lawyer." The officer replied, and produced three print outs of digital images on the table in front of him.

"Do you know what these are?" He asked Marcus.

"Pictures of me?"

"Very _astute_ Doctor. They were captured on surveillance at Manhattan General, the night of October 9th, and you were identified by one of their security officers."

_David, _Marcus thought bitterly, and then looked back at the officer in front of him. "I don't deny that's me." He answered. "I was there that night for a short while."

"Long enough to make off with several medications." The officer filled in.

"Do I really need to explain this to you? I wasn't there to steal _anything_, I came for needed supplies. I was assisting with the effort at the UN, and I was in complete Disaster mode. I know that I didn't follow any proper protocol, but given the circumstances...come on. I was just trying to save lives. I kept a thorough record of everything, I had no intention of ripping anyone off."

"Doctor an investigation has already been launched into your whereabouts and actions that evening. As of yet none of the triage's have identified you, or confirmed that you were a part of the medical effort over at the UN. We haven't been able to locate a _single_ soul who knows anything about you Dr. Sloan. All we have to go on is the video that clearly shows you removing hospital property. We've also been notified of past suspicious behaviour, that has prompted us to launch a full scale investigation against you. Now if you're willing to cooperate, this could go a bit easier on you. We're interested in your buyers."

"My _what_? Marcus said, completely flabbergasted. "This is absurd! Am I being accused of pedaling this junk?"

"The investigation will reveal everything in due time, so if you-"

"No, now hold on a minute!" Marcus interrupted again. "I want my phone call, and I want it _right_ now!"

* * *

Luke was across the room when he heard his phone ring, and had to run to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Luke, it's Marcus. Uh...I'm in trouble."

"What_ kind _of trouble?"

"Like, you're my one phone call kind."

"_What_? What's happening, were you _arrested_?"

"I was caught on surveillance at Manhattan General, the other night when the UN blew up. Do you remember David Lewis?"

"Crazy security guy who was out to get you?"

"He works there now, he identified me from the feed. It definitely looks like I'm stealing, and it gets worse."

"How does it get _worse_?"

"I think he's setting me up somehow, the cops are asking about buyers! They think I'm pushing this stuff!"

"That's insane!"

"I know it is! I don't know what I'm going to do. I didn't take their lawyer. They're going to be back to take me for more questions any minute."

"Breathe Marc, just breathe, and don't say another word. I'll be up there as soon as I can."


	25. To the Rescue

Luke had been at the Precinct for a few minutes, and he knew he wasn't going to be able to get anywhere with these people. He swallowed hard and stared at Katherine's business card. He didn't know if she would actually help them or not - but he had to exhaust every resource, he owed that much to Marc.

Katherine answered on the second ring.

"Agent James, this is Luke Barrows. Do you have a minute?"

"I'm all ears Luke, and you can cut out the 'Agent' junk. What's up?"

"I was wondering if your offer of friendship is still on the table."

"Oh brother, how much trouble are you _in_?"

Despite the circumstances, he almost laughed.

"I'd rate it about a Defcon 4."

"Sounds serious. Alright, what's the sitch?"

"The _sitch..._well the 'sitch' is, one of my best friends is in big trouble. He was the other doctor from the UN, the one who went after supplies. Circumstances being what they were, he didn't have time to go through proper channels. He just went in, got what we needed for the Ambassador and her daughter, kept a record so we could make amends later."

"With you so far."

"He was caught on a security feed, and one of their internal personnel recognized him, a guy who has a personal vendetta against him. He turned the cops onto him, got an investigation launched. Long story short, Marc's been arrested. My wheels are spinning, I didn't know what to do, except to call you. I know you don't owe me this, but-"

"Alright, be quiet for a sec. You need to do exactly what I say, so listen up. I'm going to get changed, and I can be at the Precinct in like half an hour. In the meantime, is the Ambassador still available to you?"

"She's still staying with the guys."

"Good. She needs to get on the phone immediately with the American Consulate. Tell her to share her story, put in a good word for Marcus, and mention that her hero's in trouble. I'm going to make another phone call on my end on the way, but nothing is more important than her communicating with the Consulate, and making sure they contact the NYPD. Are you already down there, do you have access to Marcus at all?"

"He's being interrogated, I can't get near him."

"Does he have a lawyer?"

"He refused one."

"Okay, if you can get anyone to take you seriously, tell them representation is on the way."

"You pull this off and I'm going to owe you big time."

"Just do what I said, and hurry!"

* * *

Luke had been pacing like a caged lion for the last twenty minutes after touching base with Victoria, and asking her to call the Consulate. His heart was in his throat as he waited for Katherine, and tried to keep his own nerves in check. He was relieved to see her breeze inside with as casual an air as one can have on crutches, in full business attire. Luke met her as she was coming towards him, a little breathless.

He quickly explained what Marcus had told him, and the whole David Lewis situation.

"Okay, I've got something in motion on my end too. You talked to the Ambassador?" Katherine asked.

"She's making the call. Now what?"

"You relax, stay here. I'll handle this." She said coolly, and maneuvered her way to the front desk.

"Who's in charge up here tonight? I need to see your highest ranking officer." Katherine told the desk girl briskly.

"Who may I tell him is asking?" She asked almost boredly.

"Agent James, with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. _Now_ would be nice."

* * *

Luke sat down to wait with baited breath while Katherine met with the commanding officer on duty.

"Agent James." The Sergeant said gruffly. "What can I do for you tonight?"

"I understand you have a Dr. Marcus Sloan in custody at this current time. I need to inquire as to his exact whereabouts."

"He's engaged in the interview process right now. Does the FBI hold some interest in this case? You know how this works, the NYPD gets first crack at him."

"I don't think the _NYPD_ is actually aware of the true situation of this case. I'm here on Dr. Sloan's _behalf, _and I need to see him immediately."

"Well the good doctor has refused counsel, and you aren't going in that room until we're finished with him first Agent James."

"I see I didn't make myself clear Sergeant. I don't take orders from you. I'm here on official business to represent the doctor's best interest. If you'd like me to call my Director, I can get _him_ down here. But if he has to come himself, heads are going to roll, and _yours_ will be first in line."

He wilted under her searing gaze, and jerked a hand over his shoulder.

"Come with me Agent James."

* * *

Marcus thought he couldn't be more shocked tonight than he already had been, but Katherine hobbling into the room on crutches proved him wrong.

"The man you are currently interrogating is not a criminal." She said smoothly, now addressing his interviewer and the Sergeant together. "He _acted_ in a time of national emergency, doing the very best he could to save lives. He didn't follow hospital procedure, but he can hardly be blamed for reacting desperately, as the circumstances demanded such a response.

As per the ridiculous accusations that he was _looting_, only to resell the medications elsewhere, I would love to see your hard evidence to back that up. Are either of you officers aware of the past relationship between Dr. Sloan, and the internal security officer who set this whole affair into motion?"

Both men only stared, a little taken aback by her fiery speech.

"I didn't think so." She went on. "David Lewis has a good reason for recognizing Dr. Sloan - he used to work security for St. Joseph's. Up until the time that he was fired, because he was caught engaged in inappropriate acts by Dr. Sloan, and a hospital board member. Mr. Lewis proceeded to threaten Dr. Sloan for a further six months after that, a fact for which there is documented evidence. This includes a restraining order against Mr. Lewis. Before you begin a full blown investigation, perhaps you should understand the motivation by which Mr. Lewis has been acting, and decide how much of his hearsay is actually credible."

There was a knock at the door that seemed to break the spell Katherine was creating, and a man stuck his head inside.

"Sergeant, there's a phone call for you." He said.

"I'm a little busy right now!" He barked.

"Sorry sir, you've got to take this."

The Sergeant huffed out of the room, and Katherine turned to focus all her remaining energy on the remaining officer.

"On the night of October 9th, Dr. Sloan was engaged in the relief effort at the UN, he simply wasn't working inside the triage center. He was positioned on the south end of the building where there were no TV crews or extra help available. By his effort he helped save a United States Ambassador, and her daughter, in addition to an FBI agent. The action you're taking against him inexcusable, treating him like some common criminal. He's a hero from that night, one of the many who goes unrecognized, and unsung about. You'd better start producing your evidence that he was reselling the medication, or at least admit that you don't remotely have a leg to stand on with those charges, other than the witness of a mentally unstable security officer."

* * *

Ten minutes later the Sergeant walked back into the room, this time as white as a sheet.

"We're finished." He said faintly. "You're free to go Dr. Sloan."

"What do you mean we're finished?" The other officer demanded. "We have digital record of the theft!"

"I just got off the phone with the Director of the Consulate, and he's_ free _to go." The Sergeant said through clenched teeth.

"Let me guess. They didn't take too kindly to your absurd charges against an innocent civilian, who put everything on the line to help rescue a United States Ambassador?" Katherine asked with a hint of a smile. "I would imagine he's been referred for a commendation from the Federal Government. He _has_, hasn't he?"

"The hospital isn't pressing charges, and the other accusations have been dropped." The Sergeant growled at her.

"Thank you _so _much gentlemen, it's been a pleasure." Katherine practically cooed, and looked at Marcus. "Come with me Doctor Sloan."

Marcus was too stunned to utter a sound as Katherine led him back out of the room, but he froze in his step when he saw his _own_ Hospital Administrator standing in the lobby with Luke.

"It's okay Dr. Sloan, I had my Director call him to explain the situation, and to make sure your job would be safe. He's here to support you." Katherine assured him quietly.

Marcus breathed out his nerves and greeted the man.

"Sir, hello, I'm sorry you had to come down here..." He stammered nervously, and Katherine stepped in front of him.

"All the charges against Dr. Sloan have been dropped, and he will be receiving a hero's commendation for his actions on the night of October 9th. He saved lives, my own among them." Katherine told him.

"I came down here to speak for you if I could Dr. Sloan, I'm thrilled to see it isn't necessary." His Administrator told him. "I'll be having a word with these officers about David Lewis though. Perhaps it's time we pressed some charges of our own. Please take a couple of days off Dr. Sloan, you deserve them."

* * *

Outside a few minutes later, Marcus had finally managed to stop shaking long enough to embrace Katherine.

"You saved my life. _Thank you_."

"It was an honor Dr. Sloan."

"The name's Marcus." He said with a deep breath. "Oh my word. I need a painkiller, or coffee, or maybe just a sledgehammer would work."

"Are you going to be okay Marc?" Luke asked him, and his friend nodded.

"Yeah, I just need a breather. I think I'm gonna head to the guys' place. Somehow, going home isn't all that appealing right now."

As he was finishing the statement, a taxi pulled up to the curb, and an anxious red-head rushed out at him.

"_April_." He breathed. "It's okay, everything's going to be okay now."

"I'm gone for six days, and you get yourself arrested? I can't let you out of my sight, can I? What happened in there?"

"It's a long story - do you mind coming with me down to the guy's? I don't want to rehash it more than once right now."

* * *

After they were gone, Luke lingered a few more minutes under the awning with Katherine.

"You came through big time. I don't know how to thank you." He said.

"I do." She replied. "I already know what I want from you."

"A deal is a deal. What can I do for you?"

"Seeing as how you interrupted my Chinese takeout and I'm now starving, I only see one solution. Dinner."

"Dinner?"

"You know, the evening meal where people often eat together?"

"Are you asking me _out_?"

"You have to eat anyway don't you? What's the harm of doing it together?"

"You're serious." He said incredulously. "What is your fascination with me woman?"

She gave him a feisty smile.

"If you wanna find out, you're going to have to take me somewhere decent. You _owe_ me, remember?"

"Right, I guess so." He said, feeling utterly clueless at that moment. "Uh...how did you get here?"

"I'm not driving to well with these crutches."

"Of course, sorry. I'll go pick up my car, and swing back around to get you, okay?"


	26. Getting to Know You

Donatello walked into the practice room looking for Mike when he'd been gone for awhile, and found him sitting on a mat in the corner of the room.

"Hey Mikey. What's wrong?"

He shrugged, leaning back hard against the wall.

"Marc and April are back. Everything's gonna be alright now."

"_Is_ it? For how long?" Mike asked him softly.

"What do you mean?"

He didn't answer right away, drawing his knees up slowly to his chest.

"Sometimes I just wonder how much longer we can get away with this." He finally said.

Donatello sat down beside him with a quizzical look.

"_This_ doesn't sound like you Mike."

"I'm sick of this." He answered honestly. "Don't you ever just get tired of it?"

"Of course I do." Donatello acknowledged.

"I can't stand to see them suffer because of us." Mike said plainly. "It's not right, what they go through just to help us _exist_. How many more bullets can we dodge? God knows it won't keep up forever. One of these days, one of 'em is really gonna pay the price. It's not _fair_."

Donnie sighed as he searched for words.

"I know Mike...I'm scared of the same thing. Tonight, I didn't see how he was going to get out of it, none of us did. But it seems like 'destiny' has played another hand in our favor."

"For real. If we hadn't met that lady, who knows where Marc would be right now?"

"There's a lot of junk going on up there Mike. We're on the brink of the biggest war this world has ever seen, and nothing seems to be on stable ground. But I still think the best thing for us to try to do is focus on the positive. Jenna and her Mom are alive, against all the odds. Marc's been cleared of all those stupid charges. And as we speak, Doc is on a _date_. C'mon, that _has_ to make you smile."

Mike did manage a laugh at that.

"It's crazy, right? This might sound strange, but I really feel like those humans are just as much a part of us, as we are with other." Mike replied, motioning between him and Donatello.

"And there's nothing in the world we wouldn't do for them. So why's it so hard to watch them sacrifice for _us_?" Donnie mused.

"You know what Doc always says." Mike quipped with another grin.

"We don't like to share." Donatello imitated, and then got to his feet. "So you wanna get out of here, maybe celebrate the fact that Doc is actually _living_ a little?"

Mike took his offered hand and let him pull him upright off the mat.

"Yeah. He'd better be prepared to share details."

* * *

Luke hadn't known what to expect from Katherine that night. She'd been trying to drag so much information out of him a few nights ago, that he sort of thought she might come in with both barrels blazing again. Instead she was was completely relaxed and at ease, a stark contrast to Luke's jittery stance.

Katherine shook her head at him after they'd been sitting for awhile at the table.

"Luke, what is it? You _can't _still be this nervous about me. Have I actually proven nothing to you?"

"No Katherine, it's not that. This will probably sound juvenile, but I haven't done this in a very long, long, _long_ time. I can only imagine how stupid that sounds."

"It doesn't sound stupid - I just want you to be able to _trust_ me, I'm not here to interrogate you. I realize that we got off on a very awkward foot together. What I hoped to do tonight was give you a chance to see _me_ a little."

"I suppose that's fair." He said with a smile. "You know my life story, and the only new thing _I've _learned is that you're an incredible fast talker."

She laughed. "I have a pretty extensive background in bluffing and strong-arming other people. It's necessary for my job, but it also tends to spill into what minuscule personal life I have as well. I'd like to apologize again for that, I know I made you really uncomfortable the other night."

He sat back in his seat, studying her for a long moment.

"I think the most _uncomfortable_ part came down to meeting someone who could instantly see through me. Marc and Donnie are good at that too, but they've known me for years. As you can imagine, my _own_ line of work demands a firm grip on my emotions, and a very steady hand. Ever since I met you, it's like _both_ of those things have flown right out the window. I'm still trying to figure out _why_."

She took a slow sip of her water, as if contemplating what to say next.

"You might say I haven't been completely myself lately either, or maybe it's just a more 'hyped up' version of the woman I usually am. But I'm not getting the microscope out tonight, so you can relax. It's your turn to ask me something."

He seemed to loosen up his posture considerably.

"Where do I start? How about family?"

"I was raised by a single mother for the most part. I have a younger brother and sister, who are still back in the Sacramento area where we grew up."

"You're a _California_ girl."

"Not for awhile. I came out East for college, I was actually pre-law in the beginning."

"That's not hard to believe. So they're _all_ still on the West Coast?"

"Well my Mom died of cancer, about five years ago."

"Oh...sorry."

She shrugged it off.

"It was a really hard time, but she's not in pain anymore. I think that's the most important thing. Like I said, my siblings still live out there. My brother is a high school teacher, and my sister runs and teaches at my Mom's old studio."

"Studio like..."

"Dancing, ballroom, latin, the whole deal. That was my Mom's passion, and you can bet all of us learned too. I was decent I suppose, but my sister was the one who really loved it, she's the amazing dancer."

"Is it hard to be separated from them?"

"I go back West a few times a year, and they come to New York occasionally. We keep in touch through e-mail, the usual means."

"Have you talked to them much since the bombing?"

"I called while I was in the hospital, just to let them know that I was okay. They probably weren't even concerned to begin with, I mean, why would they even think I'd be there? I didn't tell them everything that happened, I never do."

"You didn't tell them you were hurt?"

"Money's tight Luke, I didn't want them to think they needed to fly out here on a whim. I've gotten used to not telling them very many details about my assignments or travels. I feel like the less they know, the less reason they have to worry."

"How did you get into this?"

"The FBI you mean? I can't nail it down to a certain moment where I just decided to go down this path. A good opportunity came up, and I went for it. I've been with the Bureau for a few years, and I'm happy there. Legal representation was never going to satisfy me, fortunately I learned that early on. I'm more content in the role of an enforcer."

Luke smiled at that. "You asked me the other night why I chose the ER. Some young doctors get their start there because of the rush, and believe me, it'll get your adrenaline going. You have these critical cases that come in, some of them with lives barely hanging by a thread. For me personally, there's no better feeling in the world than pulling somebody back from the brink, seeing them live to take another breath. It's the most rewarding thing I've ever done."

"What I _really_ wanted to ask you was why you didn't do it full time. After learning about your intelligence, your schooling, I couldn't fathom why you weren't on staff somewhere, even if you _don't_ need the money."

Luke winced openly. "Yeah, the _money_ is the other thing I'm not comfortable with you knowing so much about."

"I was just _praying_ you weren't some spoiled trust fund baby."

"No, I just came into my inheritance a whole lot sooner than I ever wanted to." He said quietly.

"Knowing the whole picture now, I don't even need to ask _why_. You try to stay freed up for your friends?"

He nodded. "Exactly. They've been known to get themselves in trouble, medically speaking." He laughed shortly. "Looking after them _is _almost a full time job."

"Luke, I think that you're an amazing person. You intrigue me, and that's actually not easy to do."

"I don't for the _life _of me see why. I'm actually pretty ordinary, with the exception of my friends."

"Even separated from them, you're still unique. I may have learned a few things about you already, but I know that's it only skimming the surface. I want to know _you_ Luke."

He gazed into her amber eyes for a long moment, searching for words.

"You make me feel differently, than I have in a long time. You could say that I'm intrigued too...if still a little nervous."

"Just give me a _chance_ Luke."

"I'm here aren't I? That's about the biggest step I've taken in like ten years."


	27. Eager Beaver

Editor's Note: Just a small tidbit if you're interested. When I first conceptualized Katherine's character, _she_ was a _he_. But the more I thought about, I simply decided that there was already enough testosterone flowing in these stories. For me that's one of the most addicting/mystical parts about writing - the process of how a story develops and deepens, into places even the writer doesn't always see coming.

* * *

As they walked out of the restaurant, Katherine stopped for a moment under the overhang. Luke had planned on taking her home himself, but she had asked him if he would hail a cab for her.

"It's not that I don't want you over there or something Luke," Katherine explained. "It's just that there are a lot of FBI people that I work with that live in the same building as my condo. I'm not really ready to answer questions yet - you're not the only one who doesn't do this often."

"Okay." He immediately agreed, but as he started for the curb, she pulled him back.

"I don't want you to think that I'm brushing you off, 'cause that's not what this is." She said.

"I blew _you_ off Kat, it's not exactly like you owe me or anything." He replied, and noticed the change in her expression. "Sorry, is that too casual?"

She smiled. "No, my siblings have called me Kat my whole life, I've just never heard it from anyone else. I like it a lot more than what I usually get called around the Bureau. But like I was _saying_, I don't want to blow you off. I'd like to see you again."

"What does your schedule look like right now?"

"I'm on leave for about five weeks, Doctor's orders. I can't stand it."

"You remind me of Donatello."

"He was the talkative one from the UN, right?"

"Yup. He also can't _stand _to be idle anymore than it seems you can. Can I see your phone for a minute?"

She handed her cell to him, and he tapped into the address book to create a new entry, then gave it back to her.

"I programed my cell in there. If you're bored and want to hang out, I'd be more than happy to entertain you, if you can call it that. You probably wouldn't have been hurt to begin with if you hadn't double-backed to warn the guys."

She gave him a slightly probing look.

"I appreciate it, but I don't want you to do anything out of obligation. At the risk of scaring you off...I like you Luke. But I don't want to be your pity case."

"I can't imagine you being _anyone's_ pity case Kat. But at the risk of scaring _you_ off, I've been thinking about you for days. I thought that it was guilt at first, just because I felt so bad for drugging you. I never did apologize for that by the way. I've never done anything like that before, I was just trying to protect my friends. I _am_ sorry."

"I understand why you did Luke - _and_ why you didn't want to tell me the truth. If I was in your position, I probably would have done the same thing."

"In any case, I haven't been able to stop thinking about you. I think it's because I like you too."

"So does _this_ mean I can see you again?" She asked impishly.

"Do you think you'll be eating dinner tomorrow night?"

"It's a pretty safe bet."

"Do you want to do this again? I mean, it doesn't _have_ to be tomorrow, I don't want you getting sick of me or anything."

She laughed. "I'm wide open Luke, and I can't imagine getting tired of you anytime soon. I'll call you tomorrow, okay?"

"Yeah," He said, and then moved a little awkwardly to embrace her. "Thank you again for saving Marc's tail tonight."

"I'm just glad I could help. To tell you the truth, I was happy to hear from you _period_."

"I really am sorry for how I acted at my apartment. The guys are all I have besides April and Marcus. I can get pretty crazy while I'm trying to protect them. It's a strange line to walk. They're incredibly strong, very capable of handling themselves. But they take so many risks and get thrown into harm's way so often, that they're bound to get hurt from time to time. I've done things for them outside outside hospital walls that I still don't even like to think about. Sometimes I'm amazed that all four of them are still alive."

"I think they alluded to it the other night, but they never did explain what it is they do." Katherine said thoughtfully. "I wanted to ask, but I didn't want to push it at the time."

"They've been heavily trained in ninjitsu their entire lives, and they use it to intervene in criminal activity through the city."

"Seriously? That's like one of the coolest things I've ever heard."

"I should have known _you'd_ like it, 'Miss Enforcer'."

"Well I sure didn't figure those muscles were just a side-effect of their mutation. They impressed me with their strength inside the UN, but now I _really_ wish I had the chance to see them in action."

"You still might get it. I can't speak _for_ them of course, but I think you got a whole lot warmer tonight."

"Because I helped talk Marc's way out of jail, or because I went out with you?"

"I don't know, they're pretty thrilled about both."

****

Luke made sure that Katherine got into a cab alright, and walked back to his Volvo, feeling a little breathless. He glanced at the time on the radio, and then up at his own reflection in the rear view mirror.

_What a night. I can't believe I asked her out for __tomorrow__. What was I thinking? Man, I hope she doesn't think I'm desperate. Why couldn't I just play it cool? I feel like I'm in junior high._

He headed out into traffic. It was late enough that he might actually _avoid_ having everyone jump on him in the Den at once.

* * *

Luke let himself in underground, walking quietly into the living area. It was empty and pretty dark, the only illumination coming from a single lamp that had been left on. He looked around slowly and listened for a few seconds. It was quiet. Luke looked around the corner and saw lights on in the Lab, then noticed Donatello sitting in between the two ladies who were wide awake.

Luke immediately popped into the room with both hands on his hips.

"Hey, what are you girls still doing up? Don't you know it's after midnight? I swear, I take one night off, and you let 'em run right over you Donnie." He said.

"Look at these faces Doc. How can you be so strict?" Donnie grinned. "Besides, _you're_ the one who made us wait so long."

"I knew it was too quiet down here. Where's everybody else?"

"Marc and April went back up top, the other guys went to bed. So...how did it go?" Donnie had to ask.

"It was surprising. I figured we were gonna be playing 20 Questions times infinity, but it wasn't like that."

"What _was_ it like?" Jenna spoke up.

"We talked about her family, her job, _my_ job. It was actually pretty relaxed."

"Did you have a good time?" Victoria asked.

"She wasn't what I expected. I did have a good time."

"How could that be Doc?" Donnie teased lightly. "I thought you weren't _attracted _to her."

"I was _trying_ not to be attracted to her, and failing miserably."

"Are you gonna see her again?" Donnie pursued.

"Maybe." He said evasively.

"What kind of answer is that?" Jenna demanded. "You can't tell me we waited up just for you to hold out on us."

"You have to give me a second, I'm not used to getting ganged up on." He said maddeningly.

"It's a simple question," Jenna laughed. "Yes or no, that's all you have to say."

"We're having dinner tomorrow." He said matter-a-factly.

"She asked you out again?" Victoria clarified.

"I asked_ her. _Is that too soon? Am I being stupid about this?"

"She can't think you're too stupid if she said _yes_ Luke." Jenna informed him.

"I don't know how this is supposed to work." Luke admitted.

"Would you like some advice Luke?" Victoria asked him.

"I'd die for some."

"In the dating world, a lot of people try to turn themselves into the perfect version of what they _think_ someone else wants. All that does is set _both_ parties up for disappointment. I think the best thing that you can do is just be yourself from the start. Trust me, playing hard to get is extremely overrated. You are who you are, and maybe she'll like it, maybe she won't. You have no guarantees. But don't lose yourself, and don't try to change who you are for someone else."

"I don't know what she sees in me."

"What's that supposed to mean? You don't think you're good enough for her?" Donnie demanded.

"That sounds _oddly_ familiar." Jenna said dryly.

"This is different." Donatello argued. "Doc, you can't pass on this. How many times have you ever felt this way?"

"Believe it or not Donnie, a difference in species isn't the _only _thing that can complicate a relationship." Luke told him, and then laughed. "I'm acting like we've already established something."

"Well you're gonna see her again - that's a start." Donnie replied, casting a long gaze at Jenna. "_Some_ complications are worth slugging your way through Doc, take it from me."


	28. Permanent

The next morning Leo and Mike went down early to get a workout in before breakfast. They'd warmed up and spent a few minutes on exercises, before Leo cast his younger brother a side-long glance. Mike had been awfully quiet last night, and still seemed somewhat subdued today. Leonardo dropped to the mat, and motioned for him to join him.

"You're different Mikey. What's going on?" He asked him.

He flopped down beside him with a bit of a sigh.

"I've just got a lot on my mind Leo. That thing with Marc last night really scared me."

"Uh huh...but that's not all that's bothering you, is it?"

He shook his head without saying anything else.

"C'mon Mike, just talk to me."

"This ain't easy for me Leo. I've been trying to act upbeat and all, I'm just thinking a little too much I guess."

"Is this about Sensei?"

His brother's glance told him he'd hit the nail on the head.

"I don't know what to say to him." Mike said slowly. "We're all walking around here like everything's normal, and it's _not_. Why do we even bother pretending that nothing's wrong?"

"I don't think we're trying to pretend bro." Leo said quietly. "I think it's just sort of a defense mechanism. Like, if we focus on it all the time, we're all gonna lose it, you understand?"

"Well _I _feel like I'm fakin' it, and I can't do it anymore Leo. I can't act like everything's just okay." He finished brokenly.

Leonardo looked down at the floor for a few seconds.

"Recently I read a saying somewhere, that I really hated. It went something like...'our loved ones never really leave us, they live on in the memories we shared and the differences they made', and a whole bunch of other junk like that. It made me really angry. We're losing our father, and I'm supposed to be comforted by _memories_? As if that would actually make up for him not being here.

But over the last week or so, I think I've started to understand what that really means."

Mike only looked at him, and waited for him to go on.

"Everyone we love has an effect on our lives Mike, they help shape us to become who we _are_. When you think about it, all of us carry around a huge part of Sensei with us all the time. His teachings, his encouragement, his pushing, his counsel...it's all in there. We may not get to have him physically with us much longer, but the _impact_ he has had on us is permanent.

I know that doesn't make it any easier right _now_, and you don't have to pretend to be happy for our sake. Don't worry about the right or wrong thing to say to Sensei though. I've been struggling a bit with the same thing. Just don't avoid him, because you'll regret it later."

Mike's eyes welled with tears, and he practically threw himself at Leonardo, his older brother embracing him as he sobbed. Minutes passed before he looked up somewhat awkwardly, wiping his eyes fiercely.

"Are we gonna make it Leo?"

His brother nodded firmly. "It won't be easy," He acknowledged. "But if we work together...y'know there's nothing we can't face down."

"I used to think that."

"No, it's _true_ Mikey. It might not feel like it right now, but you can't believe everything your feelings tell you."

He didn't say anything for a few seconds, letting out a long breath.

"Can we come back to this physical stuff later? I'm just not really into it right this second, and I've got extra mouths to feed."

"Sure Mike. You want some help?"

"I'll never turn it down. Let's go see who's awake."

* * *

Donatello had been up for a few minutes, and was back in Splinter's quarters messing with his machinery. After setting up a new filter for the machine, he came over to adjust one of his Master's pillows.

"Are you comfortable Sensei?"

"Yes my son. Thank you."

"I've got you set up to receive some more oxygen. Do you want tea now, or after?"

"I want you to sit with me for a few moments, and not worry about that machine."

He gave his Master a small smile, and obeyed.

"Do you know, I still remember the first time that I saw all of you." Splinter mused. "As shocked as I was by my _own_ transformation, nothing could have prepared me for the rapid change that took place in all of you. The very thing that changed us _all _has turned out to be one of the best things that ever happened to me."

"You really never wanted to go back Sensei? You don't regret not getting to live in the real world?"

"What we have accomplished together living underneath this city has been living enough for _me_. There have been things that I missed about a human existence, but I have not truly regretted it one day for myself, no. You four are the reason for that. In my heart, the only reason that I ever desired to leave this place was so that you could know a life outside this sewer system.

As for me, I have been content to train you, to help mold all of you. It is a Master's responsibility to guide his pupils, until they have become true masters in themselves. Each of you has achieved so much...and I could not be prouder of you."

"I still remember one of the_ first _things you ever taught us Sensei."

"Ah yes...and from the beginning, your own prowess was completely apparent."

* * *

It had occurred to Splinter that it could be easier to teach the four of them to read _separately_, but he'd decided to try it in a group setting first. He'd never taught _anyone_ how to read before, so they would be partially learning together. The hardest part was getting the young turtles to _focus_ for more than two minutes at a time, with the exception of his second youngest.

Donatello had never been satisfied with simply listening to his Sensei's readings in the past, and quite often stole away to try and figure out words and sounds on his own. Inevitably he would seek his Sensei out again to help him sound out syllables. It was his own keen interest that had pushed Splinter to try and teach them all how to read together now.

As Splinter copied down the alphabet and a couple of simple words on the dry erase board, he turned back around to see Leonardo and Raphael climbing over their chairs, and Michelangelo sprawled on the floor with one of his trucks. He cleared his throat decisively to get their attention, giving the three a disapproving look. They scrambled upright into their chairs, swinging legs that didn't quite reach the floor yet.

"_Alright_ my sons. You have seen your letters before, but now it is time to learn about their different sounds, and how they can fit together."

They stared back at him as if_ trying _to understand as he got started, but he still wasn't sure he knew how to explain everything properly. He had begun with sounding out the different vowel sounds, cursing the fact that english wasn't his first language. As he went onto to explain that the same vowels contained various sounds, he saw only blank looks from his sons. Well not all of them - Donatello's own expression was bright and eager.

A little frustrated with himself, Splinter called Donatello up to the board for a moment.

"I know that you understand these two words Donatello - can you sound them out for your brothers so that they can hear the difference in the vowel sound?"

"Uh huh. That one's _cat_, and that one...that one's _ran_."

"Do you hear the difference my sons?" Splinter asked the other three. "They both contain the same vowel - but when they fit into different words, they don't necessarily _sound_ the same." Then he sighed inwardly as he gazed at the three of them, knowing that they had a hard time distinguishing the sounds through his own accent.

"It's really not as hard as ya think." Donnie spoke up. "See, if you can learn all the different sounds these couple of letters make, you can read words a whole lot faster. Almost every word uses 'em, so if you can get these down, you're like halfway there. Just focus on A, E, I, O, U, and sometimes Y."

"How come only sometimes?" Leonardo piped up.

"That comes later." Donatello said patiently, not even noticing his Sensei's stare.

Splinter had no idea how much the young turtle had actually been _comprehending_ from what he'd taught him before. It seemed he had learned to focus on the speech patterns themselves, and wasn't thrown off by his accent.

"Okay Donatello, sound these vowels out slowly for your brothers." Splinter told him with a growing smile.

He'd just found his way in.


	29. Protector

It had been four weeks since that first night that Luke and Katherine went out, and they'd been taking their time to get to know each other ever since. Tonight they were back at Luke's apartment, having just finished the most amazing italian take-out known to mankind.

"Where'd you find this place anyway?" Katherine asked him.

"Jenna recommended it - she went there with her parents years ago her first time in New York, and they were all floored."

"_I'll _say. Have you got any more tricks up your sleeve?"

"Not really, I'm kinda just winging it tonight. So what is your work situation exactly, when do you report in?"

"I'm cleared to return next week, but with the holiday, there's not really a point. I'll probably start back in a couple of weeks."

"Do you have plans for Thanksgiving, are you going out West to be with your siblings?"

She took a sharp breath and hesitated for a second.

"No, I'm not. My aunt on my dad's side is treating them to a cruise over the holiday. I was invited months ago, but I told them I couldn't get away from work like that. Of course that's all moot now." She answered morosely, her expression suddenly very troubled.

"What's wrong Kat, are you missing them?"

She shook her head without making eye contact.

"I could have gotten the time off, it was just an excuse not to go. We haven't had very much to do with my father's side of the family through the years. Over the last five years since my Mom died, my aunt has really been reaching out to us. Her heart's in the right place, it just brings back up a lot of negative things from my past." Katherine hesitated, shifted uncomfortably on the couch, and looked at him again.

"You remember that I told you there wasn't _one_ certain event that drove me down my career path? That's not _exactly_ the whole truth. You told me that you were a product of your environment Luke, and you could actually say that I am too.

My dad was around for the first few years of my life, up until I was seven years old. He was a police officer, a hard worker, and a loving man..._most_ of the time. But I remember a lot of instability in his moods, lightning fast changes. One moment he was Mr. Sunshine, and the next second he could be slapping my mom across the room. He was verbally and physically abusive with her, off and on for years. He was always sorry afterwards, he even went to see a therapist a couple of times. We would have a good month, where everything was as close to perfect as you can imagine. But it always started up again - it was like living with Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Sometimes I would wake up early in the morning, just wondering who we were gonna get that day.

My mom loved 'Jekyll', and believed that he could change. She lived with it for a long time, holding onto hope that the man she married could come home completely. Then my seventh birthday came, and I can remember it now as _tangibly_ as if it had happened yesterday. It had been pouring rain all day, and my little brother and I were bored out of our minds. We'd been making all kinds of racket, driving my father crazy all day. He turned on _us_ for the first time that afternoon." Katherine said, stopping for a few seconds when she got emotional. "I'd always been scared when I saw him hit my mom, but that was nothing compared to what _that_ felt like. My mom came running when she heard our screams, it was like she already knew what was happening. I'll never forget her bursting into that room with my father's shot gun."

****

The sight of the diminutive latin woman brandishing his firearm might have made the man laugh, if he hadn't already noticed the deadly serious look her eyes and her clenched jaw.

"_Enough_ Carl!" She seethed with through her own accent. "Get your filthy hands off my children, and get out of here! I'm going to the police, do you hear me? I'm showing them _everything_! And if you ever come back here I swear I will press full charges against you, or I'll kill you myself, whichever feels more convenient!"

He seemed to be frozen in time, with one hand still clenching each Katherine and five year old Brandon, afraid to make any sudden moves.

"Did you hear me Carl? We're through! Let them go and get out of this house!"

****

Katherine was quiet for a long time, before carefully going on.

"It was as if seeing _us_ threatened broke something in her. This mother bear instinct immediately rose to the surface. My father was a coward at heart, so we were actually pretty lucky. He left that day, and he _didn't_ come back. I learned something then Luke, that has never left me since. Up until that time, I thought that a girl just had to take it, no matter what the guy did to her. I watched my mom be mistreated for years, and assumed that she simply didn't have a choice in the matter.

That day when she stood up to him for the first time, it changed everything. What she didn't have the strength to do for herself, became readily available when it was time to protect _us_. I learned that a woman could stand on her own two feet, and didn't have to be shot down by _anyone_. Her determination that afternoon and her drive to support us as a single parent is largely responsible for making me the woman that I am today.

I dealt with anger for a long time, and didn't have a proper outlet for it. Then when my brother was thirteen he became enamoured with Jackie Chan and other Kung Fu flicks. He begged my mom to let him take Tae Kwon Do courses at our local YMCA. She was hesitant until she realized that I was interested too. It had a really positive impact on me, and I stayed with it all throughout my teenage years. I enjoyed the feeling I got from being a so called 'protector'.

That's part of the reason that I got interested in law to begin with. I figured that I could stand in the gap for people, and make a really good living doing it. So you know that I came out East for college. The first year that we started in depth case studies, I became extremely disillusioned with the whole court system. It got to the point where I was so discouraged, I had to force myself to show up for those classes.

Around that time I retreated back into my comfort zone, jumping back into Tae Kwon Do locally in New York. It was an outlet again for all my frustration, not knowing what I should do. I met a guy there who was pretty impressed with me, one of the instructors who also consulted on the side for the FBI, training some of their field workers. We talked about how unhappy I was with the career path I'd chosen, and he made the suggestion that completely changed my course." Katherine finished.

Luke laughed. "I have a feeling you're going to get along with the guys _very _well." He said, and then quickly got serious. "But uh, that's really intense Katherine. I'm sorry to hear about your dad. I can't picture what that must have been like."

"I just feel bad for ducking out on my brother and sister _now._ It seems like I've been doing it more and more, and it needs to stop."

"They _are_ your family." Luke said quietly. "But then what were you planning on doing next week?"

She looked down at the couch and shrugged. "You're looking at it."

"That's not right, you can't be alone on Thanksgiving. Do you want to come down and celebrate with _us_?"

Her eyes widened a little. "Wait, is this an actual invitation to see where they _live_?"

"They're cool with it Kat - they told me to invite you if you were going to be hanging around New York."

"_That's_ a step for us, kinda like going home to meet the family?" Katherine quipped.

"Quite a unique one." Luke admitted. "No pressure though."

"No it's fine Luke, I _want_ to go. I'm just wondering what this means for the two of_ us_." She said mischievously.

Luke paused for a second.

"I um...I _want _to be with you Katherine, I think you realize that by now. You're also aware of the baggage that comes with me. I want you to know that you would be a priority to me, but you also have to understand the importance of my relationship with the guys. When things go haywire, I pretty much _live_ down there until everything is under control.

I'm not sure how to say this correctly, so I'll just try the best way that I know. They don't have a lot of options or help available to them. Marc is great for support, but he also works full-time. He can't always drop things as quickly or for as long as I can. The buck pretty much stops right here. I don't want to look too far down the road, but I also don't want there to be any mistake about where it is I stand. I guess what I'm attempting to say is..._please_ don't ever ask me to choose between you, because you won't like the direction I go." He finished very carefully.

"Luke, it's alright." She said evenly. "I get it, I can relate with the crazy hours and time I have to put into my own job. This is much more personally relevant than anything I do with the FBI. I don't want to do anything to drive a wedge between you...I'd just like to be_ included _in this part of your life."

"So you _do_ want to come?"

She nodded, shifting her position on the couch to get closer to him.

"I'd love to Luke." She answered, meeting his gaze for a lingering moment.

He lightly brushed bronze hair off her face, tracing her cheekbone with his finger. They kissed for a few seconds, and then her intense amber eyes bore into him again.

"Does this qualify that we're in a relationship now?" She asked playfully.

"I guess it does, if that's what you want." He stammered.

"Is that what _you_ want?" She clarified.

He smiled, and ducked his head for an instant. "Yeah."

"Then I guess it's a done deal."


	30. Spies Among Us

Editor's Note: As is sometimes the case, this chapter was heavily influenced by my life experiences. I lost my own Mom suddenly to a stroke when I was nine years, and almost 18 years later, it's amazing how easily the emotion is recalled.

* * *

Luke took Katherine home later that evening, and they lingered for a few minutes in the night air beside his Volvo.

"I'm glad we talked. You know I was never trying to hide anything from you Luke. It's just not the easiest thing for me to come out with, even though it was a long time ago." Katherine told him.

"Don't worry about it Kat, seriously. We're still gettin' to know each other, right? It's not like I've told you every little detail about my life either. We can do this one step at a time, I don't feel like there's any reason for us to rush."

They kissed, drawing closer together when the chill wind whipped up around them. For those couple of minutes, they were completely oblivious to anything else going on around the - something that Katherine would berate herself fiercely for later.

* * *

His observations complete, the young door man ducked back inside the building, and hurried down the hall. He closed himself inside an open maintenance closet, and locked the door behind him. Only then did he get out his phone to make the call he'd been waiting days to report on.

"Mr. Terelli? Yes, I have the information you requested. I'm sorry it took longer, I told you her habits have changed, she's been acting very sporadically lately. It seems like it was easier to keep an eye on her _before_ she got injured, she was so predictable. But I did finally get photos of the man tonight, and his vehicle. Yes, I can place the license plate too. He's the same guy, I've seen him around here a few times in the last weeks, I'm certain he's the distraction. I'll leave the camera in the usual place.

For the extra compensation? Yeah, I'm sure I could try and get some more information about her schedule. I appreciate that. I'll keep my eyes and ears open, and I'll call you when I have more to report. Thank you sir."

* * *

Katherine smiled to herself as she hobbled through the lobby of the building, stopping short when her partner fell in step beside her.

"Well don't _you_ look happy. Seems like this leave has been doing you some good, huh?" He teased her, and they both started walking towards the elevators.

"More than you know Greg." She answered lightly, but he wasn't letting her off that easy.

"Who _is_ he James? You're out all hours of the night, and you look more content than I think I've ever seen you. Or did you think I haven't noticed?"

"His name is Luke, he's a doctor, and _yes_, I'm seeing him." She answered before he could ask.

"A doctor? C'mon James, you're _breaking_ my heart. You know I've been holding out for you." He joked.

"Yeah, _you_ and the other fifteen women who've been in and out of your condo in the last month." She shot back with a laugh.

"You shoulda told me about him, I need to do a little research."

"Don't you dare!" She commanded with a raised finger. "He's already shy _enough_, I don't need you scaring him off."

"Is it serious?"

She only smiled for a second. "It could be getting there. I'll let you meet him soon if you can behave yourself."

Greg threw up his hands in surrender.

"If he makes you happy, I guess I'm happy _for_ you."

"Thank you."

* * *

The guys had long ago set up the guest room for Victoria and Jenna so that they could sleep more comfortably. Victoria had been spending some time on the surface now, meeting with officials to nail down the details for her new position with the government. She wouldn't actually be starting back at the Consulate until after Thanksgiving, and would be moving to the new condo after that.

Jenna was still having issues getting around on crutches, and was a bit tired of all the down time it forced her to have. But the extra time it gave her with Donnie _was _a plus, so she didn't feel like she needed to complain about it. She was curled up on the couch with him again tonight, resting her head against his chest and nearly dozing.

He had turned off the TV a long time ago. They weren't talking or listening to anything right now, they were simply quiet. As she nestled further against him, she felt a distinct tension in his muscles, and sat up slightly.

"Baby?" She asked softly. "Are you alright?"

"Hm? Yeah, I'm okay, I'm fine."

"You _can_ talk about him you know."

He sat up a little further against the back of the couch with a small grunt.

"It's not that I don't _want_ to Jen...I just know that you're going through it too."

"First Thanksgiving without my dad." Jenna filled in.

"And this will certainly be the _last _one that we have with Sensei." Donatello said. "We wanna try to make it as normal as possible...but that's sorta hard to do."

"Don't try to force anything Donnie. Just be grateful for the time you've got left, and try to make the most of it. I know that probably doesn't sound very comforting right now but...I've lost_ two _fathers to crazy women. I know a few things about going through this. It hurts like heck Donnie, you find out that you can ache in places you didn't even realize existed. I know what it is to cry harder than you ever thought possible. You watch the world going on without you, all the people living their merry little lives. You wonder if you could possibly _ever _be that happy or normal again.

I won't lie to you Donatello, the immediate reality is very difficult to deal with, and the truth is you'll never get over it completely. Years can pass, but there will always be a scar left behind from that pain. I_ still _think about my real father sometimes, particularly around certain times of year. The good news is that the relentless, cruel, heart-breaking pain of losing someone that close to you doesn't last at the _level_ of intensity forever. Slowly you'll recover, and you won't feel guilty for taking a moment to laugh, or enjoy yourself with your brothers again.

Be prepared for the inevitable Donnie - but enjoy every moment that you have left. Be thankful that you have the chance to say goodbye. That's something I've _never_ had, though I don't know if it actually makes it easier or harder that way. It's so much more drawn out this way, but at least you still have a little more time. Believe me when I say that you'll make it. You might not always feel like you want to, but you've got so much more living left to do. And I'll be here Donnie, every step of the way."

He embraced her firmly to his chest, letting tears fall freely.

"This isn't fair to you." He said quietly. "You deserve your own time to grieve."

"It's not about what's _fair_ babe, you know life's not like that. Every morning I just keep getting up. Some days I don't feel like it, but on those ones in particular, I just try to keep looking forward to daylight. The night can't last forever."


	31. Family Time

"Do we have to watch this thing _every_ year? I can tell ya what's coming around every corner. I get that it's the kick-off and everything, but if I've seen Santa come to town once, I've seen it a million times." Raphael complained.

"Quit bein' a spoil sport - _I've_ never seen it." Jenna replied.

"It's tradition bro, you know it's bad luck to break tradition." Donatello added.

Fatefully, Michelangelo stuck his head out of the kitchen door at that moment.

"Hey Raph, would you c'mere and get your _cat_? She won't stay off the counter."

Raphael got to his feet and disappeared inside the kitchen. He came back a moment later with Tiger perched on his shoulder, and returned to his chair.

"C'mon Tiger, we can make fun of the balloons at least."

"Would you lay off of the parade? _Some _of us enjoy it, don't we Sensei?" Leonardo spoke up as he helped Splinter into the room, and got him settled in one of the other chairs.

"What a nice change of scenery." Splinter remarked. "Happy Thanksgiving my sons, Jenna."

"Can I get you something Sensei, are you hungry?" Leo asked him.

"Just tea would be nice, I am trying to save room for later."

"Good idea," Jenna remarked. "Mike and my mom working together? You'd better be ready to eat a ton."

"This must be the biggest gathering we've ever had. I'm glad Mike has the help." Leo told her.

"The two of them are like the ultimate pairing, you'll see. You don't know what you're in for." She laughed.

* * *

April and Marc came down about an hour ago, with their own contribution in tow. April ducked into the kitchen to view the well oiled machine that was Michelangelo and Victoria, both clearly in their element.

"Dinner rolls." April announced. "Here's our proud addition."

"Thanks April - good to see ya. I'm glad you could get off this year." Mike said warmly.

"Seniority does eventually yield its' advantages. I'd offer to help in here, but I'd probably ruin beyond recognition anything you let me touch. I'd be happy to help set up the table though."

"That sounds like a good thing for you to spearhead. Try to take it easy though huh? It's your day off, no reason to feel guilty for it."

* * *

Luke brought Katherine underground a few minutes later, and Leonardo met them at the van entrance with one of the Sliders so that Katherine wouldn't have to walk so far. She didn't have a clue what was coming, and was actually feeling a little nervous now that she was down here. The minute they got her inside though, all of that tension started to melt away.

She hung back for a few seconds to listen to Donatello and Raphael, passionately debating the virtues of which side dish was the most important addition to the Thanksgiving table. Her smile slowly grew as she relaxed. Their banter made her feel like she was at home with her _own_ family.

"C'mere Kat, I want you to meet Master Splinter." Luke encouraged her with a light hand on her elbow.

She allowed him to lead her over, and kept a cool composure as she laid eyes on the rat for the very first time.

"Agent James, I've heard quite a bit about you. It is a pleasure to have you in our home." He said with a smile.

"_Thank _you for having me, please call me Katherine, or whatever makes you comfortable. It's nice to meet you." She replied, and cast a glance at the brothers who'd given up their argument moments before.

"Hi Katherine, hey Luke, Happy Thanksgiving." Donnie greeted them. "Can I take that stuff from you?" He asked, indicating the bags that Luke was toting.

"Oh, those are just some centerpieces I made. I'm more of an artist than a chef I'm afraid." Katherine told him.

"That's perfect, do you want to help me set the table?" April asked from behind her, wanting to include the woman right away.

Katherine shuffled over to help April start designing the long table that had been set up on the other end of the living room. While they talked, Luke dropped down on the couch by Marcus, smacking his knee as he went by.

"Hey Marc, how's it goin'?"

"I think I should be asking _you_ that. How's uh, how are things going with Miss Kat over there?" He asked lightly.

"They're going well. I've been excited to bring her around, thanks again for including her you guys." Luke replied.

"It's all good Doc." Raph told him. "Feels cool to have _everybody_ down here."

Tiger was investigating the empty plastic bags across the room. By now she'd already wrapped herself up in the plastic, and darted towards the woman dragging the shopping bag with her. Katherine laughed and reached down to free the animal, untangling the handles from Tiger's head.

"The mighty hunter." Raphael scoffed. "No plastic bags are safe in her presence."

* * *

Around 3pm everything was ready, and they started moving towards the table. Leonardo and Raphael went to help Mike and Victoria get everything out of the kitchen, while Donatello and Luke hurried to get drinks for everybody. The entire meal had come together flawlessly, the most amazing looking spread any of the turtles had ever seen in their lives. It was hard to know where to start.

"Okay seriously, are you _sure_ these are the biggest plates we have? I think I'm gonna need at least two of 'em." Raphael mentioned.

"Just focus on a couple of things at a time bro, and make your way around the table. This kind of meal can't be rushed." Mike instructed with a grin.

Donatello felt Tiger weave around his feet, and surreptitiously snuck her a good portion of a drumstick. Then he gave her a little nudge with his foot, and she settled down under the table to eat her own turkey.

They lingered at the table for well over an hour and a half, but no one was keeping track. Victoria brought them her own recipe of spiced cider to go along with the dessert offerings, and the entire gathering was relaxed and content to just enjoy each other's company.

Splinter cleared his throat once at the head of the table. The sound wasn't very loud, but everyone seemed to take notice of it, and look his direction.

"At the risk of becoming too emotional in this wonderful moment, there are things that I feel I need to say. Today is a stark reminder of how grateful I am for each and every one of you. April, Luke, Marcus...it is difficult to imagine the time in our lives before you were in it. We were all of us introduced through rather desperate circumstances, but since those first meetings, you have become _fixtures _that have changed our world so much. You have all sacrificed so much in order to be a part of this family. Your friendship, your aid, and your medical skills have seen us through tremendous adversity. We owe your our very lives, many, many times over."

He glanced at Jenna with a soft smile. "For you my child I am most profoundly grateful. The impact you have made on my sons, and on our entire existence is indisputable. I did not know how things would turn out that night that you were first brought to our Den. I could never have foreseen where it would end up, and I could not be _happier_ for you and Donatello."

Donnie and Jenna glanced at each for an instant, and he reached for her hand under the table.

"Victoria, you have not been in our lives for very long, but it has been utter joy to me to have you here. To meet the woman that rescued Jenna from the cruel foster care system, and helped set her on the road for her own healing, has been a true privilege. While I am not grateful for the situation that _forced_ our meeting, I am so glad of the opportunity to know you.

We have not met before this evening Katherine, but to you I owe a tremendous debt of gratitude. Were it not for your own selfless action in returning to help lead my sons out of a disaster zone, we cannot know for certain that they would have escaped at all. If that were not enough, you also came to Dr. Sloan's rescue in his own desperate need. Thank you for coming here tonight, for in effect _joining_ our family. You are most welcome."

Splinter stopped for a few moments, gazing at his sons with a certain pride.

"I could go on all night long if you would allow it, there are so many things brimming over inside of me. I look at the four of you, and cannot help but be amazed. All of you have distinct differences, and unique strengths. When they are combined together it becomes the fusion of the most powerful team work I have ever witnessed in all of my years. As your Master, as your father, I am more thankful for you than words can properly express."

* * *

All the "men" had put forth a combined effort to help clean up, and then went back to hanging out in the living room. Katherine found herself absolutely riveted by Donatello and Jenna, though she was trying very hard to hide it.

Jenna was trying rather painfully to work out a cramp in her left leg, and Donnie got down on the floor next to her chair.

"Hang on babe, let me get it." He told her, and helped straighten her knee out completely, supporting her cast from underneath.

"Thanks. Would you mind helping me get upstairs? I kind of want to get changed."

He swept her off the chair with a wide grin, and as they were headed towards the stairs, Katherine caught the look of adoration that passed between them.

She sighed softly to herself. "They're really in love, aren't they Luke?" She asked him.

"Yeah...they are."

"That might be the most amazing thing I've ever seen."


	32. The Chase is On

Later that evening Luke drove Katherine towards home, interested to find out what she'd thought of everyone.

"Luke, everything was so great today, it was _such_ an incredible experience. I don't know what I expected from them, but they're like...a normal family. I didn't see that coming."

"I know it feels really weird at first Kat, but with the exception of their _physiology_, they're really not that different from us. It's all skin deep."

Katherine was about to say something else, when a car in her side mirror caught her eye for the sixth time.

"Luke, can you turn left here, really quick?" She asked him.

He was completely mystified, but he made the turn swiftly.

"Okay, why did you want me to--"

"_Shoot_, I knew it! We're being followed Luke."

"Followed? Why are we being _followed_?"

"Luke, you've got to do exactly what I say, and don't ask me any questions for right now. What are you doing? Don't slow down!"

"The light is _red_ Kat!"

"I can see that! Hit the gas and don't hesitate - you'll make it through!"

He took a scared breath and floored it, sailing through the intersection like she'd ordered him to. Their tail wasn't able to follow directly behind them, and had to hesitate a few seconds before he ran the light. When Katherine saw him blow it like they had, she knew this was really serious.

"What's going on?" Luke demanded.

"I'm not sure yet, I just noticed this guy had been following us for several blocks. Now you pull off those two maneuvers, and he's still behind us!"

"What am I supposed to do?"

"Keep driving! Turn right up here. Wait, are you using your _turn _signal?"

"Force of habit!"

"Don't turn then, keep going! Brother, we've got to get out of this neighborhood. Uh, pick up your speed Luke, we _are_ trying to get away here!"

"I don't know what I'm doing!"

"I _realize_ that - just do what I tell you! There! Left, left, take the alley!"

He barely slowed down on the turn, skidding so that he narrowly avoiding plowing right into the building. Luke quickly steered into the skid to regain control. Heart racing, he started to glance into the rear view mirror.

"Don't look Luke, that'll just make you more nervous!"

"How are we supposed to lose them?"

"I'm still figuring that out, we just don't want to get _STOPPED_!" She cried out as another car came charging down the one way alley directly at them.

Luke had no choice but to slam on the brakes, and then they were immediately boxed in by the car on the front, and the one on their tail. Katherine's hands were instantly reaching for her sidearm and her cellphone, and Luke was completely frozen at the wheel as two men rushed his car.

He barely had time to duck before he saw the tire iron coming toward him, covering his head as the glass shattered out of his driver's side window. Just before he'd recovered from _that _shock, the barrel of a semi-automatic weapon rammed into his temple.

"Don't you _dare_ move man! James, would you kindly unlock the doors, and hand over your firearms to my friend over there?" The gunman commanded.

She didn't react at once, and the gunman jammed the barrel harder into Luke's head.

"You think I care about _him_ James? I'll waste him in two seconds. _Unlock_ the doors and surrender your weapons, NOW!"

He wasn't lying, and she very well knew it. Quickly she hit the button to unlock them, and let the man on the other side in. He plucked the phone and and gun out of her hands, leveling another glare on her. "Your _other_ sidearm too!" He ordered. "Lemme have it right now, if I have to frisk you, your boyfriend's gonna die before we even depart."

"Okay, I'm reaching for it." She said evenly. "Take it _easy_, I'm just getting it out."

He confiscated her back-up weapon. "Now let me see both your hands, get 'em on your head."

She had no choice but to obey, and let him bind them behind her back. Then he climbed into the passenger seat behind her, shutting the door behind him. Meanwhile the first gunman had gotten inside too, and had never taken his weapon off of Luke.

"Now listen up pal, this is how it's goin' down. You're gonna drive exactly where I tell you, and you're not gonna deviate. If you make one wrong turn or try to crash this thing, the other guys will be all over you, even if I _couldn't _get to you. Don't get any heroics in your head - just _drive_."

With a shaky breath Luke nodded, and watched the car blocking them in from the front slowly back up out of the alley.

_These__ kinds of heroics aren't my specialty. Fortunately I think I've got the right guys on speed-dial._

As if frustrated, he slammed his wrist very hard against the steering wheel for show, but venting anger wasn't his true purpose. At his request years ago, Donnie had finally designed a panic button for the watches that made them a whole lot easier to turn on. It had come along with his stern warning that if he accidentally set it off, and then didn't answer his phone, he would be receiving company. Right now that was all he was praying for.

The tingling vibration over his wrist signified that he'd been successful, and he managed to catch Katherine's eye for a brief private second.

She was extraordinarily surprised by his calm demeanor, and didn't quite understand the nod he tried to give her.

He followed the instructions of the man behind him, and waited with baited breath for his phone to ring. Roughly a minute later he heard the desired tone, and could hardly keep a smile from creeping onto his face, despite the situation.

"Is that a phone? Give it here man,_ right _now!" Gunman demanded, and Luke obediently handed the phone to the back seat. He heard it being smashed, but even that didn't bother him.

_Doesn't matter what you do now_, he thought confidently. _You have no idea what's coming._

_

* * *

_

Donatello clapped his phone shut, meeting Jenna's nervous gaze.

"He's not answering. Jen, don't panic okay? I'll let you know when we've got anything, but I have to get moving on it right now." He told her, and ran out of the room.

He dashed down the stairs, taking three at a time. "GUYS? We might need to get ready to move! Get down here!"

He heard them coming from different directions, but the Lab was his own first stop to find out what his software could tell him.

Leo dashed in a few moments later. "What's up Donnie?"

"His phone is off the grid, I think this is for real." He replied without looking up.

"What about his watch, are you getting anything?" Raph demanded.

"Yeah, but it isn't stationary. There's no address to go along with it yet, he's still on the move."

"Do we have to wait for one?" Leo asked.

"No, it's just a little trickier to track a moving target! It doesn't matter, we can't sit here and wait for them to _stop_."

Mike ducked into the room. "Are we going?"

Donatello darted upright from the desk, snapping a new battery into his hand-held device.

"Yes, we're going right now!"


	33. Vengeance

On the surface, Luke had been doing exactly as he was told, and was now _very_ aware of the fact that they had more than just two tails behind them. They ended up nearby the Hudson, on the sight of an old warehouse. Luke tensed when he noticed that four more cars were already _waiting_ on the lot for them, and pulled to a short stop where gunman #1 ordered him to. Their captors got out of the car first, neither Katherine nor Luke were going to make a move until directed.

Katherine's guard threw her crutches aside and yanked her out of the car, while the other jerked Luke upright by his jacket, swiftly forcing his hands behind his back so he could bind them.

Out of a silver handled Cadillac a dark looking individual approached them, flanked by a couple more swarthy cronies.

"Happy Thanksgiving James." He proclaimed, casting aside his lit cigarette with some disdain.

"_Terelli_." She spat the name like it was a curse word. "Why am I even surprised?"

"The _great _Katherine James, caught off guard?" The man replied with amusement, then reaching to lift Luke's chin for a better look at the man. "I suppose I have _you_ to thank for that my good man, I'm very much obliged. Bring them inside please."

Two men perched nearly on top of both of them. They half-carried Katherine so that her feet hardly touched the ground, and saved rough shoves for Luke.

"I _heard_ about your little brush with death James. I must say I was awfully disappointed that those terrorists nearly got to you before I did. That's when I decided I'd better stop wasting my time, and make my move before one your other _admirers_ got to you first." The man said with a hint of a smile.

"Terelli listen to me, Luke's got nothing to do with this. I don't care if you kill me, but you need to let _him _go." She told him, unfazed when he glared at her.

"Oh don't worry James, we're _going _to kill you. But you know that I take more pride in my work than to just put a bullet in your head. That's far to easy of a death for you."

"I'm _sorry_ about your brother, alright? But it isn't _my_ fault he's dead!" Katherine protested.

"That's not how I heard it. You left him to die a torturous death, and as far as I'm concerned, it's only fitting that you meet your end the exact same way."

"I _tried _to save him Terelli! He was the one who _started_ the fire! I did everything I could to reach him, I _wanted_ him to stand trial!"

"Did you James? Or did you just want your own perverted version of justice? Well that's exactly what you're going to get tonight. It's a pity that you're already injured, it's not exactly as gratifying this way. But your knight in shining armour here looks fit enough. I can't believe that you _fell_ for one of the men who rescued you from the UN. I never realized a sentimental heart beat underneath that brutish exterior."

"I see a whole lot of _brutes _around here, and she's not one of them!" Luke shot off before he could stop himself.

Terelli raised his eyebrows slightly at the doctor, barely flicking a finger in his direction. His own bodyguard converged on Luke, two pairs of fists ganging up on him at the same time. The men on either side of him kept him firmly upright as he was attacked, the heavy blows to his chest actually winding him. When he found his breath again, Luke raised his eyes to stare down Terelli, thinking rapidly at the same time.

_If I can get them diverted off on __me__ long enough, it could keep them off Kat, and buy us __both__ some more time. Here goes nothing._

Terelli was surprised by Luke's bold stare, but was careful not the show it. He walked directly to the man, resting a hand across his shoulder in an almost friendly fashion.

"Do you know who I _am_ Luke? Do you know about the types of people your little girlfriend here tries to bring in?"

"A _coward_ is what you are. You needed two dozen men to bring in _two _people?" Luke replied coolly.

The "friendly" hand instantly became a vise around his throat.

"That may be the first time a man has dared to speak that way to my face." Terelli said, gloating as he waited for a reaction.

"Won't be the last." Luke gasped through a strangled breath, and the man's eyes grew wider.

"I'm going to enjoy this _very _much." He said softly, and turned Luke loose with a violent jerk. Terelli backed off a couple of paces, waving his men in closer. "Gentlemen, teach our new friend some manners, won't you?"

Katherine was struggling against her own captors now. "Dang it Terelli, _I'm_ the one you want! Let him go!"

"Relax James, your turn is coming. I rather _enjoy_ the thought of you watching this first. How is that leg healing by the way? Perhaps you should take a load off."

As if by some prearranged signal, one of his bodyguard brought the the butt of his weapon fiercely to bear against her hip, and her captors let her hit the ground in shattering pain.

Luke was breathing hard as he stared at the circle of faces surrounding him. He'd been in a spot similar to this one before, and was surprised _himself_ by how different it felt this time. Clenching his jaw in determination (channeling Jenna he imagined) he refused to let them see any true fear. If he was going down, he was going down - but he wasn't giving them more enjoyment while they were at it.

The men methodically took turns holding and beating him, making up their own form of violent sport with him for several minutes. He didn't say another word to any of them, and even tried to refrain from reacting any more than he absolutely had to.

_Katherine is alive - as long as they're focused on me, I know she's alive, _he thought cloudily as as the veil descended for the fourth time, and this time didn't recede.

Katherine was being toyed with more than anything, a hard thrust or strike here and there. They were really only starting to warm up on her. Inbetween blows she kept trying to get a glimpse of Luke, desperately wondering if he was still moving at all. This time she could clearly see that he was on the ground, and the men were slightly drawing of, with the exception of one. He was yanking Luke upright, clearly trying to revive the man with a sharp slap to the face.

The thug was startled out of his mind ,and howled in pain when he suddenly found a very sharp _sai _growing out of his wrist.

"Try hittin' him again, I _dare_ you!" A very threatening call came out of the darkness to their right.

No one moved right away, until the outline of four dark figures appeared on the outskirts of their circle.

"Where's your holiday spirit, peace on earth, good will to men and all that junk?" One of the strangers wondered aloud.

"You men have exactly five seconds to stand down." A more authoritative voice spoke over him, and a light chuckle raced through the mob.

Terelli was truly annoyed by the disruption. "_Get them_!" He commanded.

"Don't mind if we do!" Another of the strangers growled, leaping directly over the heads of the first six in his path. He immediately bore down on the now injured man hovering over Luke, and ripped his sai mercilessly out of the man's arm. He sent a solid kick to the man's chin, knocking him carelessly aside. There he took up his fighting stance over the doctor, forcing the rest of these thugs to come to _him_.

Katherine was stunned, her own mouth hanging wide open as she watched the scene unfold around her. She couldn't see their colors, but she could tell from their distinct voices and their weaponry who was who. Luke had _told _her that they were incredible fighters, but she still couldn't believe her eyes as she watched the thugs being knocked up one side and down the other.

Donatello had raced to help Raphael stand fast over Luke, and the two of them now fought back to back, tenaciously destroying anyone who came in arm or bo's reach. Leonardo and Michelangelo were engaged nearby each other as well, easily fending off cronies as if they were swatting mere flies.

As Leonardo knocked two of their heads together, he suddenly caught sight of Terelli edging away from the onslaught.

"Get her out of here," He was ordering the four men remaining by Katherine. "If you can't escape, _kill_ her. Go now!"

After making his final order he motioned to his bodyguard, and they dashed off into darkness, while the other four men dragged Katherine back towards the entrance of the warehouse.

"MIKE!" Leonardo called over the din for his brother's attention.

He was just finishing knocking somebody's lights out with his whirling numchuck. "Fearless?"

"Go after Katherine, they're trying to get her out of here! I'm gonna chase down the leader!"

"Gotcha!" Mike yelled back, and charged swiftly in the direction Leonardo had pointed.

He caught up with them quickly, Katherine had been fighting them so hard. With a running leap, Mike planted himself directly between them and the exit.

"Whoa, where you goin' guys? The party ain't over yet!"

Two of them rushed at him, and he laughed at their feeble attempts for blows. He caught the first one by the fist, flinging him solidly over his shoulder into the wall. The next one he dispatched with a hard right hook, sending him sprawling to the floor.

"What I _really_ wanna know is how come we always get stuck takin' out the trash?" Mike taunted the third, sending a round-house kick to his unprotected jaw.

The one remaining wasn't facing him - he had Katherine against the wall, the barrel of a .45 trained to her forehead. Mike darted towards the man, wrestling to get the weapon away from him. The thug held on desperately to his only hope, and in the midst of their struggle the weapon discharged, seeming to surprise all parties involved. Mike staggered backwards for an instant, and then bolted forward with renewed vengeance as the man leveled the weapon on him.

Mike caught the man by the neck and twisted hard, letting him hit the ground with a sickening thud. Breathing hard he took a couple of steps towards Katherine, using a small knife blade to free her.

"Are you alright?" He asked her.

She nodded rapidly, trying to calm down her own breathing.

"Good, that's good." He gasped, collapsing against the wall in what was now obvious pain. Mike sank to the floor, and Katherine crawled over to him, carefully pulling him onto his shell.

"Mike?"

His breath was still coming quickly.

"It's okay," He managed, "It's gonna be okay."

She only had to search for three seconds before finding the gun shot wound in his side.

"_Darn it _Mike, don't move!" She ordered him, whipping off her jacket. With his blade she swiftly sliced a couple of long strips off of it to help her apply pressure. He groaned painfully, but said nothing as she tried to address the bleeding.

Katherine looked around the warehouse wildly, looking for any sign of movement.

"DONATELLO!" She yelled as loudly as her voice could carry. "DONNIE!"


	34. Torn

It only took a few seconds to get a response, and Katherine saw a shadow racing directly towards her. Donatello had his flashlight out now and seemed just a little harried.

"Katherine, are you okay? Ah _shoot_ Mike! What happened?"

"He got shot while trying to take a gun from one of them." Katherine told him nervously as he dropped to the floor by his brother.

"Mike look at me, look right here! You with me?" Donnie asked him firmly.

He gave a slight nod, squinting through the beam of his flashlight. "I'm sorry..." He murmured.

"Shh, don't talk unless you've got to Mike, but keep those eyes open, alright? Katherine, you've gotta let me see it." He urged the woman, and she moved her hand so that he could have a look himself.

Donatello probed the injury for a couple of seconds, and then took a reading with the scanner in his other hand.

"Can you put pressure back on it for me? I just need a minute to look at this." He asked her.

She obeyed and he studied the scan, exhaling sharply after a couple of minutes.

"Looks like it missed your organs Mike, still needs to come out though. You're _gonna_ be okay, you understand me? Just trust me and stay calm."

"Uh huh." He answered softly.

"Kat just keep that up alright, give me another few seconds to make sure these morons aren't going anywhere." Donatello told her and quickly went to each of the men in the vicinity, lashing together their hands and feet with zip-ties, until he reached the last one Mike had dealt with. He felt for a pulse, and then got slowly to his feet - this one _definitely_ wasn't going anywhere.

When he returned to Mike's side, his brother's light eyes met his own again.

"Did I kill him Donnie?"

"He's gone." He replied honestly, and Katherine caught Mike's open wince at the news.

"You look like you're sorry for that." She commented.

"We try to _avoid _casualties Kat." Donnie explained. "We've _had_ to kill...maybe eight or nine people between the four of us, over the last few years."

"Mike you _saved_ my life, and you _defended_ your own - don't give that scumbag another thought!" Katherine ordered him soundly.

"I'll do my best." He answered.

A couple of minutes later Donatello and Katherine saw Leonardo coming with a man flung over his shoulder, dragging a second behind him. As he dropped them off by the others nearby them, Katherine realized that they were Terelli's bodyguard.

"They'll live," He called from the short distance. "Might _wish_ they hadn't."

"Where's Terelli?" Katherine called back.

"Dead - he didn't give me a choice." Leo answered. "Sometimes a turtle has to do, what a turtle has to do."

"The Terelli brothers aren't too fond of institutions, he would never have _let_ you take him alive." She told him.

"Yeah, I sort of got that idea from him." He replied as he came to join them, only then noticing Mike. "What's wrong, are you alright?" He asked swiftly, directing a glance at Donatello.

"He was shot Leo, but I've got this. I need you to help make sure all of 'em are tied up, find Raphael, and tell him to go get the van moved closer. Then go stay with Luke until Marc can get in here, I'm calling _him_ right now." Donnie requested.

"Okay, will do." Leo answered and darted quickly out of sight.

With the news his brother had brought, Donatello knew it was now safe enough to bring the doctor out of hiding, and called Marcus to let him know.

"Marc, the scene is secure, and we need you in here. There's _a lot _of collateral damage. I only saw Luke for a couple of minutes, his vitals were a bit shaky, but he's alive. Katherine's injured too, and Mike was shot, that probably needs the most_ immediate _attention. No, it doesn't look like it hit anything vital, but we're gonna need the portable unit set up to help with blood loss." Donnie paused as Raphael ran by him. "Raph's on his way to get the van, go ahead and meet him out there, and the two of you can come back and grab Mike. As soon as you do, I'll go get a better look at Doc. Yeah, see ya in a minute."

* * *

Marcus took control of the situation with Michelangelo, and Leonardo and Raphael moved to help get him out to the van so he could start real treatment. Donatello was about to take Katherine out to the car when she asked him not to.

"You've got to leave me here with Luke so that I can help the police sort this all out. Of course I will have _absolutely_ no idea who rescued us."

"I'd rather not leave _either_ of you - but I suppose Luke would be better off in a real hospital, and so would you." Donatello replied.

He carried her back over to where they'd left Luke, setting her down very carefully before he returned to the side of his doctor friend. Donatello was silent for a few moments, and Katherine could read the tremendous anger building in his posture.

"You have no idea how helpless this makes me feel," He told her. "If we could have been here faster..."

"How did you get here at_ all_? I think he tried to tell me it was going to be okay, but I didn't get it."

Donatello reached down and lightly tapped Luke's watch.

"Jen's not the only one who wears a beacon - we _all_ do."

"Oh that's right! He smacked his wrist in the car. I'm slow, but I do get things eventually." Katherine said, staring at Luke for a long moment with her own building emotion. "I can't believe this happened."

Donatello's own probe of Luke was broken when he sensed movement about two feet away, one of the thugs was stirring. The man's bad timing and Donatello's mounting rage proved to be an unfortunate combination for him. With balled fist, Donatello struck the man so hard that his neck actually snapped backwards, and he slumped back to the ground senseless.

"Sheesh. I'm glad you're not _my_ enemies." Katherine remarked.

"Sorry - I guess that was out of line."

"Not to _me_ it wasn't - do you wanna hit him again? Be my guest."

Donnie laughed rather shakily, and returned to Luke.

"I don't want to do this, but we're gonna _have_ to leave you guys so that we can call the cops." He said.

"You _said_ he's not dying, and they're all tied up, right? We'll be fine Donnie. Thank you so much for coming after us, you saved our lives."

"That's what we _do_ Kat. Okay, we'll get out of here, and I'll call 911."

* * *

"911 Dispatch, what is your emergency?"

"Yeah hi, we've got a badly injured civilian and an FBI agent who need help. Go two blocks off of 5th and Linden towards the river - they're inside the old warehouse. There's also about two dozen bad guys just lying around waiting to be arrested. Unfortunately you'll need body bags for a couple of them. Please hurry, don't make 'em wait."

"I'm dispatching Police and Rescue, and I can stay on the line with you until they arrive. I'm sorry sir, your information isn't coming through correctly on my end, what was your name?"

"You don't need to know, and you don't need to stay on the phone."

_Click._

Donatello shoved his phone aside and returned to helping Marcus. Raphael was back behind the wheel, which left Leonardo waiting tensely nearby with not much to do.

"Is Doc gonna be okay?" Mike asked Donatello.

"I asked you not to talk Mike...but he _should_ be. He got worked over big time. Some way to end a holiday." He muttered.

* * *

Katherine's heart beat a little faster now that she was alone with Luke, but she knew that back-up would there soon enough. She was surprised by his reaction to the entire situation, and feeling extraordinarily guilty for getting him into this. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that Luke had _purposefully_ baited Terelli. The doctor was many things - but _stupid_ wasn't one of them.

She heard the sirens a couple of minutes before units actually converged on the building, and held her breath until she heard many sets of footsteps at once.

"IN HERE!" She yelled at the top of her voice. "WE'RE IN HERE!"

It was one of the oddest sights that the first responding NYPD unit had ever seen, and they took their time sweeping the building for more of the cronies. Another team from the FBI wasn't far behind them. EMT's had already moved on Luke first, and were just now starting to prepare Katherine for transport when a familiar face came into the light.

"Director!"

"Agent _James_? Are you_ alright_? What on earth happened here tonight?"

"I _will _be soon sir. It was the elder Terelli brother, he ambushed my friend and I on our way home tonight. I had absolutely no opportunity to call it in."

"I don't understand - what _happened_ to all these men? Surely the two of you..."

"No sir, we didn't do any of it. We were outnumbered, outgunned...we were just in plain hot water. Somebody _else_ came here, they intervened."

"Somebody _who_?"

"I can't tell you sir, I didn't get to see more than shadows, and they didn't introduce themselves. I've been dragged from one end of this warehouse to the other, and the only thing I got to see up close were those thugs beating the life out of my friend." Katherine hesitated a long moment for show, acting as if she were collecting herself. "How did anyone know we were here?"

"911 call, made about twenty minutes ago. Somebody tipped off the building, and that people needed help, including an FBI agent. I'm glad you're _alive_ James, and I'm sorry you had to take heat from that stupid man. No more questions from me, _clearly_ you need to get to the hospital too."

"Thank you sir."


	35. Volunteer

Marcus had just gotten off the phone with Katherine (who'd had to borrow someone _else's_ phone), when he realized he needed to make _another_ swift phone call.

"April, hey. Yes, we're well on our way, but there's something _else_ you've got to do right now. I just got a call from Katherine, and they're both being taken to St. Joseph's. _One_ of us has to be down there to speak for Luke, he's in no condition to be doing any talking. I'd go myself but with the situation with Mike...Okay, great, keep us updated on anything you find out, and I'll do the same. Yeah, I love you too."

* * *

They had gotten Mike home as carefully as possible, and Donatello set to the task of preparing a couple of needed pieces of equipment while Marcus got a better look at his scans. Donnie had gotten his younger brother into a safer holding pattern hooked up to a couple of IV's, before he actually went to talk to Marcus.

The doctor met his glance, and instantly nodded his head in the direction of the living room.

Donatello immediately understood. "Okay." He said quietly, and then went over to see Leonardo and Raphael who were near Mike on the other side of the room. "Guys, do me a favor and just stay here with him for a few minutes, will you? Make sure he stays _awake_, and come get us if anything starts really beeping over here. Marc and I need to figure a few things out. Is that okay, can you do that for us?"

They nodded, so Donnie and Marcus headed out of the room where they could safely talk without the others overhearing them.

* * *

"Mom, can you see anything happening downstairs?" Jenna asked her from the bed where she was propped up.

Victoria stepped a little further out the door, and glanced around the corner of the landing.

"Donatello and Marcus are talking." She replied.

"Can you hear what they're saying?"

"Darling, they'll _tell _you what's going on when they're ready, won't they?"

"_Eventually_. Until then we could be up here for hours and still not know jack. Please Mom?"

* * *

"...I saw the same thing you did Donnie. Removing it won't be easy, but leaving it _in_ is far riskier in my humble opinion."

"There's no telling how fast blood poisoning could set in." Donatello said. "The sooner we can get it out, the better."

Marcus was clearly very troubled.

"We're down two players, and I don't like it at all. It's going to be much harder going forward without Luke, but we can't afford to wait for him. Unfortunately, your Sensei is in no condition to help us either."

"Definitely not, but we _do _need another set of hands in there." Donatello replied stoically.

"What about the other guys, have you given them any thought?"

"I have sort of, but it's rough enough on_ me _in there, and I'm _used_ to dealing with this."

"_I'll _do it." An unexpected voice called from above, effectively startling both of them.

Victoria came halfway down the stairs.

"I don't know anything about you medically speaking, but if it's just a pair of hands you need, I can do it. I can keep it together in there, I promise I can. I'm sorry for listening in on you, I was just trying to find out what was going on."

"For _Jenna_ I'm sure." Donatello answered. "Uh...can you give us a minute?"

He pulled Marcus to the other side of the living room, where they had an immediate whispered conference.

"She _has_ less emotion invested than anyone else." Marcus pointed out to him.

"Do you think this is a good idea?" Donnie asked him.

"I _think_ that she's the best option that we have available to us."

Donatello hesitated, glancing back at Victoria still standing on the stairs.

"Agreed." He replied.

"But that's not the only thing that we need to talk about Donnie. If we're going ahead with that surgery tonight, we need to take a minute to think about sedation. You know as well as I do that Mike's never taken to the serotin well. With the amount of complications that he had _last _time, I just don't think that we should risk it, not with the stress his body is going to be under for the surgery. I'm betting it will take more than an hour to get that thing out, and he'll lose a lot of blood along the way. He's _got_ to be drugged somehow, so I was thinking..."

"White Lily?" Donatello filled in softly. "It's the only other thing that could definitely keep him out the whole time."

Donnie seemed to be thinking hard for a few seconds. He and Luke had done a tremendous amount of work on that anesthetic since the first time it had been used, and nearly killed Donatello in the process. He knew that Luke was much more confident in it now, and they didn't have any other options.

"Okay." Donatello said with some difficulty. "We'll have to talk to him about it but...I'm with you."

Marcus laid a firm hand on his shoulder.

"I know it scares the heck out of you Donnie. But Luke--"

"I know. We've worked on it together, it's _ready_."

Donatello broke up the conference and looked up at Victoria again.

"Alright, you're hired. You'd better come down here with us so we can give you a crash course on a few things. Don't worry, none of it is hands on, you just need to be able to recognize certain drugs and his blood type when we ask you for them." Donatello called.

"Okay!" She answered strongly, and returned to the Lab along with the two of them.

"Actually Marc, why don't you go ahead and get started with her, and I'm gonna go explain things to my brothers." Donnie said tightly.

Marcus agreed, and Donatello ventured over to the others, who immediately looked up as if they were facing down their doom.

"Sorry to keep you waiting." He told them.

"Just tell us what's up." Raphael requested.

"Alright, here's the deal. The bullet missed your vital stuff Mike, but it's still not in a great place. It penetrated far enough that Marc and I are going to have a bit of a complicated time getting it out. If we were human, we probably wouldn't even bother with it. A lot of times doctors don't bother them now-a-days if they aren't threatening organs. But we're _not_ human, and we _don't_ have the powerful anti-bodies that they do. In our case, you realize that this means that we develop infections very easily. So if we chose to let the bullet be and not do anything with it..."

"I could get really sick?" Mike suggested.

"It's not so much a question of if, but _when_. Marc and I don't want to take the chance."

"When would you have to do something?" Leo asked.

"We'd uh...we'd wanna do it like right away." Donnie replied.

"Whatever you gotta do Donnie." Mike said quietly.

"There's something else that we need to talk about first though. It's about sedation." Donnie went on.

"What about it?" Raph asked.

"Marc _isn't _comfortable with using the serotin, and I agree with him. It made your blood pressure drop way too far last time Mike, and your system has already been compromised with blood loss. The only other readily available option we have is to go with the White Lily."

It had just become so quiet in the room that you could have heard a pin drop. There were no immediate words or objections, but their terror at the thought of using the anesthetic registered plainly in their eyes.

"Luke's got faith in it, that we've been able to work out the issues with the dosage and the delivery system. But it's your choice Mike. We can use the other form of sedation, you just need to know that it carries it's own degree of risk." Donatello finally said.

"Just get it _out_." Mike said evenly. "_Ya'll_ are the experts, make the call, and just get it out of me."

Donatello left the room a couple of minutes later to talk quickly with his Sensei and Jenna, while Marcus continued going through things with Victoria. It was going to be another long night.


	36. Taking Care of Business

* * *

Donatello was slightly trembling as he prepared the mask for the anesthetic. He had to take a few moments to collect himself by the computers, he couldn't let Mike see how nervous he really was.

_It'll be okay. It will. Just stay focused, and help Marc get through this. __Man__ I wish Doc was here._

But it wasn't possible to think about Luke with risking emotional breakdown either.

_Please__ God let Doc be okay. There's no telling how seriously injured he really was, I didn't have enough time with him. If he was bleeding internally it might have...STOP IT, _he commanded himself vehemently. _Stop it right now. He's in competant medical hands - and April's with him. At least he's not alone, even if he doesn't know any better. Okay...I can't put this off any longer._

He stopped fidgeting with the mask and brought it over to where Marcus was waiting.

"Ready?" Marc asked him.

"It is." Donatello answered more strongly than he felt, and took a moment to kneel at his brother's side.

"Do a good job." Mike said mock sternly, reaching to punch him in the shoulder.

"We will Mike. Everything's gonna be alright.

"Course it is. I'll see you on the other side."

Donatello nodded and adjusted the mask for him, turning the knob to let anesthetic start to flow.

"Count backwards from 100 bro...and I'll be here when you wake up."

"I'll hunt you down if you're not."

"Hush and start counting."

* * *

Marcus got started a couple of minutes later, with Donatello in a support position at his side. Under a magnified light he had to make a wider incision first, so he would have room to actually insert a probe to go after the bullet. Victoria stayed close by, but out of the way.

Marc had to take his time so that he wouldn't cause additional damage with his instruments. It was a delicate process to feel his way through, and he wasn't as confident about it as he wished he could be. This wasn't his specialty - he was used to _reconstructing_ things. A procedure like this one was much more up Luke's alley.

_Focus man, focus! Don't forget what you're __doing__ here!_

With renewed concentration he continued his search, weaving his way carefully though the wound track. Forty minutes were gone before he knew it. and they were being forced to replace blood at a faster rate now. Donatello had been eyeing the monitors a little more carefully over the last ten minutes, and finally spoke up.

"Marc, I think we ought get some noraphim in him, he's developing some tachycardia."

"Make the call Donnie."

Donatello glanced up to see Victoria was already close at hand doing something.

"Yeah, that's good, go ahead and switch that bag out for another one, then grab me that fresh needle and the taller bottle near the end, _right_, the noraphim."

She finished her exchange, and then brought him what he'd asked for.

"How heavy are you goin' Donnie?" Marcus asked him.

"I think five units would do it. How's it coming in there?"

"I'm getting closer, but this is where I have to be the most careful. I'm not gonna talk for the next few minutes unless I have to, alright?"

"Gotcha Marc, just focus. I'll watch his signs."

It took awhile longer to safely reach the missile, and then properly extract it. It was one of the most nerve wracking procedures Marcus had ever been through, and he _wasn't_ sorry when it was almost over. Donnie had been watching his vitals and not saying anything, so hopefully that was a good sign.

"Donnie, how are things looking neurologically?"

"He's a little decreased - but it's not indicative of anything traumatic, _definitely_ not what happened with me last time. He seems to be holding pretty steady Marc. What about you?"

"_Almost _there."

* * *

Nearly an hour and forty-five minutes since they had started, the bullet was finally out. Donatello kept himself busy with post-operative checks, and was relieved by how well things had been holding up.

"His blood pressure is still kinda low, but considering what he's been through, I'm almost happy about where it is. Everything else is in pretty good shape. His brain activity levels are perfectly comparable to how we react under normal sedation...all in all, I'd call that a success." He told Marcus.

"Let's still keep him hooked up for another transfusion, watch the blood pressure, and make sure it doesn't do anything drastic. Hey, are we getting better at this, or is that just me?" Marc said with a smile, actually breaking the tense atmosphere.

"You did well Marc. I know this wasn't exactly your comfort zone, so that speaks even _more _for you. It was a good call avoiding the serotin too, I think that was the right choice."

"Everything worked out, _fortunately._ You and Luke reconfigured the anesthetic perfectly it seems. I'm glad you let us use it."

"Me too."

* * *

A few minutes later they were still unwinding from the surgery. Marcus had gone to talk to the others just to let them know where things were standing, and Donatello stayed behind with Mike to keep an eye on things there.

Donnie had noticed a familiar tightness in his right knee, it had been there for about a week, but tonight it was a bit more pronounced. He stretched it out to its' fullest extent, letting out a slow painful breath with it. When he heard someone coming he quickly put it down, and made for the desk chair by Mike. He wasn't fast _enough_.

"Hey, what's the matter?" Were the first words out of Marcus' mouth.

"Nothing, I'm fine, just stretching."

"_Uh huh_. Donnie, I'm an orthopedic specialist, I think I know a _limp_ when I see one. Hold still for a minute."

Marcus felt around his knee for a few moments just by touch, before taking a digital scan of it as well.

"The ligaments are feeling pretty _rigid_ Donnie. Have you been experiencing any unusual pain?"

"It's been a little sore over the last week, tonight's the worst that it's been."

"You didn't get hurt in the fight?"

"Heck no Marc, those guys barely touched us. It was already feelin' tight."

Marcus got up to examine the scan he'd taken, and came back a couple of minutes later.

"You're displaying several stress points on your reconstructed ligaments. I'm betting that carrying your damsel in distress up and down those stairs _might_ have something to do with this."

"Somebody has to." Donatello said wryly.

"Well _you_ need to lay off of it for a couple of days, so I can make sure that's all this is. The rest of your normal activity should be fine, but if it starts to hurt _worse_ you've got to tell me no matter what, we clear?"

"You're the Doc." He answered meekly. "Does it need to be braced?"

"I'd feel more comfortable if you did - I also want you to try to stay _off _of it a little bit."

"I'm not doing any sleeping, at least not for awhile, but I'll try to keep off it in here. I want to watch things for the next few hours, might be okay to let one of the guys stay with him after that. There's no telling when he'll come around. What about Luke? Did you get to call April back?"

"The doctors are being vague with her, dragging their feet."

"Marc, do you need to get up there?"

"I don't want to go yet Donnie, I mean, I _do_ want to go, I just don't wanna leave him..."

"Marc, I'm not going anywhere. _You_ go, make sure they're taking the right care of Luke. I know you wanna be there, _I _would too, but it's not exactly like I can waltz right in. Mike's signs are mostly stable, all you'll be doing _here_ is waiting."

* * *

About an hour later (around 4 in the morning by now) Marcus had made his way to the surface and reached St. Joseph's with Raphael's help. April had taken his own car to get to the hospital, and Luke's Volvo was part of the crime scene. He would have taken a cab, but Raph had calmly informed him that wasn't happening this time of night.

Marcus immediately went to the ICU area where April was waiting for him.

"You made it." She said with some surprise. "You didn't have to come like this Marc."

"Mike is pretty much stable, and I_ wanted _to come. How are you doing?"

She shrugged helplessly. "These people won't talk to me, my head is pounding, and I'm about to go out of my freaking mind. But enough about me - _you _look exhausted."

"I'm alright. Sit back down over there, and I'll go have a word with his doctor. You said it was Pollinsky?"

"That's sure what it sounded like."

"Okay. Wait here."

Marcus went over to the nurse's station, and got a surprised look from the first woman he saw him.

"Dr. Sloan! You're not on call, are you?"

"I'm sure not dressed for it. No, I'm here because of Dr. Barrows. Will you please page Dr. Pollinsky to come up here? We need to have a chat."

* * *

The doctor arrived in minutes, stopping short in his stride when he laid eyes on Marcus.

"Dr. Sloan, you're here."

"Yes, I'm here." He said with serious irritation. "Do you know who _else_ is here? An extremely worried friend who's about to go out of her mind, that _you've_ been ignoring for three hours!"

"Please understand, we've only been looking out for Dr. Barrow's best interest--"

"By _withholding_ information from one of his primary contacts? Why in the heck do we _have_ the lists if you're not going to use them?" Marcus was near an exploding point, and had to stop for a deep breath. "I'm sorry - I've just been through a lot tonight, and I literally got here as soon as I could. Will you please tell me what in the world is going on with Luke?"

"I am truly sorry, we were honestly waiting to hear from you as the first contact point, hoping that--"

"Stop _explaining_, and tell me how he is."

"Shaky at best. He had internal bleeding from some ruptured blood vessels in one of his kidneys, we had to move on surgery for that sooner than we really wanted to. There was a rupture of the serous membrane covering his lungs, it required putting him on a respirator to help his breathing. Besides that he has a fractured clavicle, a separated shoulder (which will require surgery of its' own), and other various contusions.

Dr. Sloan, he is also suffering from a traumatic head injury, which didn't fully display until the last couple of hours. We had to put him under a drug induced coma, in an attempt to negotiate with the intracranial pressure build up. He's not in good shape right now. All we can do for this moment is support his systems, and wait for the pressure to come down."

.


	37. Living

Marcus had explained things carefully to April, and then made the difficult phone call to Donatello. Because of having privileges in the hospital, a nurse had offered to set up one of the doctor's quarters for him, but he wasn't about to leave April on her own. He was stretched out on one of the couches in the family waiting area now, lightly running a comforting hand over her hair as she leaned against him wearily.

April hadn't asked Marcus if Luke was going to make it or not - she wasn't sure if she wanted to hear the answer. Somehow it seemed like she and Luke had been best friends for a lot longer than the six and a half years that she'd actually known him. They'd been through so much, things that most people could live an entire lifetime without seeing or doing.

As she tried to breathe out the tension and pray for her friend, her mind drifted back to the first time she'd ever Luke in her building, just walking off an elevator.

* * *

_(Six years and a few months ago)_

The tall blond following behind the movers as they carried boxes through the hall seemed like little more than a kid to April, but the look in his blue eyes bore an incredible weight. He didn't seem to notice her as they passed, and he jogged ahead of the other men to get the door to the apartment open.

_Four down from me. Someone that young, he must have a good job to be doing this on his own. At least he looks like he's alone, and I didn't see a ring on that hand._

Despite the hired help, the young man made several trips along with them, bringing things upstairs to the apartment on his own.

_Not afraid of working, though he doesn't seem to have the rough hands for it, _she added thoughtfully.

April found herself pondering him for the rest of the day. She wasn't sure if it was just her naturally inquisitive nature, or just that look in his eyes that had captured her. She knew better than to bother him that night, even though she was curious.

_Everyone deserves a chance to get settled in. Maybe I'll run into him over the next couple of days._

But as it turned out, a week passed without her seeing hide nor hair of him. A couple of times she'd even snooped close by his door during the day to see if she could hear anything, but never did. The only time she actually had was when she'd come home late one night, and distinctly heard what sounded like a TV from outside.

_I wonder if he works from home. He's definitely not a morning person. I bet I would have an easier time trying to connect with him at night._

She felt strange for obsessing, but some part of her simply couldn't let that vision of him go. On her way home from work the next night, she stopped by her favorite bakery to put together a package. When she got back to their building, she could see lights on from under the door, but he never answered when she knocked. Quickly she scribbled a welcome note to him, and left her offering outside the door.

April didn't expect anything to come of it - obviously the new neighbor liked his privacy, and she was done intruding. So when there was a knock at _her_ door two days later, she was rather surprised to see the young man standing awkwardly outside.

"Hi," She said with a warm smile. "5G, right?"

"That's me, are you April?"

"All my life. What can I do for you?"

"I just wanted to apologize for not answering the door the other night. Those cookies blew my mind."

"I wish I could take the credit for them, but I'm no baker. I'd be happy to share their true location with you..."

"Oh sorry...Luke Barrows. I just moved in....but you _knew_ that. Anyway, I just wanted to say thanks."

"Luke, do you wanna do something?" She asked suddenly.

"_Huh_?"

"Do you have something to do, are you busy?"

"Well sure. I _was_ going to stare at the ceiling in my apartment for a couple of hours, maybe watch a few re-runs I've already seen ten times, eventually eat something that vaguely resembles food. But I think I could rearrange some of that, what did you have in mind?"

"First the bakery, and after that, we could play it by ear."

"I have to warn you that I'm not very good company."

"If you don't mind listening to me jabber on, I'm sure you'll do fine. How about it?"

He hesitated for a long moment, but then nodded.

"Alright, lemme grab something, and I'll be right back."

* * *

That had been the first of many such evenings she spent breaking down the walls. He was so distant at first that he barely talked, but also didn't seem to mind listening to her. It didn't take long for her to realize how intelligent he was, and she wasn't surprised to learn that he was a doctor. April was dying to ask questions, but wisely held off. She had the distinct feeling that if she pushed too hard, he would simply retreat.

There was nothing romantic in their encounters. It was obvious that he wasn't remotely interested, and her own curiosity wasn't following along those lines either. She had been steadily chipping away at the hard exterior for over a month and a half before he began to slowly open up to her and talk about his life before, his life with his parents.

All of his depression had come to a boiling point around the time that he'd moved in. For that first week when she'd never even seen him, he had literally shut down to the entire world except for delivery people.

"I don't know how to live like this April." He had finally admitted to her. "Every day I feel like I'm on the brink of a ledge, tittering for my life. And then I ask myself _why_, why I am even trying to figure this out? What's the use of _living _when you don't have a reason to anymore?"

"You have plenty of reason left for living Luke. I know that it's hard, but this is how you start to deal with it, by talking. If you let it all eat away at you, it will destroy you from the inside out."

"April, I'm _never_ going to be able to be the person I was before. I feel like _that_ Luke died with them. I'm living in a shell, existing just to breathe in and out every day - and I don't know why I bother."

"You'll remember, I promise you will Luke. It won't _last _like this, you will get to live again. But you can't give up before that happens."

"Why are you bothering with me? There has to be other people you'd rather hang out with."

"Because you _matter_ Luke, and I'm trying to convince _you_ of that. Your presence here in this city, where you are right now, it matters. I know you feel like you've completely lost your purpose, but I don't see how that can be true. You went to school, you jumped through all the hoops to become a doctor. You got into the medical field to save lives, and you can still do that. Your parents being gone doesn't change that."

"It changes _everything_ April. In college we had to learn to remove ourselves, to not become too emotionally vested in a patient. I was good at it, for awhile. But now...I tried to go back last week. I didn't tell you that, did I? I tried to go back and it didn't work. Death and dying, dying and death, everywhere I looked. I can't cut myself off from it anymore, and I couldn't take it."

"It's too soon right now. You have to give yourself time Luke."

"How is _time_ going to help me deal with death objectively again?"

"It will Luke, just give it a chance, give _yourself_ a chance. You can come back from this - you just have to want it. Do you want to live?"

He met her gaze, and seemed to think about his answer.

"Yes and no." He finally said.

"We'll start there."

* * *

April blinked back tears again as she clutched Marcus' hand in the darkness.

_You're not finished living yet Luke, so don't you dare quit on me._


	38. Many Fronts

Obviously neither Marcus nor April were able to do much sleeping. He had asked to be alerted of any changes, and made sure all of the nurses were aware of where he and April were hunkered down for the time being. Around 9am Dr. Pollinsky came out to find them, immediately sitting down across from them.

"My apologies for earlier Ms. O'Neil."

"That's irrelevant now. What's going on?" She asked.

"The intracranial pressure is starting to subside, which is a very good sign. We won't know anything about his true mental state until he comes around. We can't release him from the coma just yet, but at least we're heading in the right direction. In the meantime, his lung function has increased as well. I've also cleared it so that _both_ of you can have access to one of the doctor's quarters, and I highly encourage you to get some rest. We'll keep you informed as things change." He told them.

"April, you should go and get some sleep." Marc encouraged her.

"What, like you don't need any?" She shot back.

"Dr. Sloan, I assure you that the nurses will have the number of the room. I understand that you want to be here for Dr. Barrows, and you'll be most welcome to come back. But you would probably be in much better shape if you would get some rest. Please?"

"C'mon Marc, you know you won't last like this." April added.

* * *

They ended up both going, exhaustion taking over the second they hit the two single beds. Marcus slept soundly for a good five hours, before waking up with something of a start. He sat up and got slowly to his feet, glancing at April sleeping across the room. He wouldn't bother her right now.

He ducked out of the room, quickly heading for the ICU. When he reached the nurses' station, one of them already had a phone in her hand, and dropped it when she saw him.

"Dr. Sloan. I was about to call you."

"Hey Peg - what's up?"

"Three things actually...uh...number one. They've taken Dr. Barrows out of incubation, the pressure has gone down now, and they're going to allow him to wake up naturally on his own. Two...there is a woman waiting for you in the family area, says her name is Victoria? I think she brought some things you needed. And lastly...Katherine James from the third floor, you know, the woman who came in around the same time as Dr. Barrows? She's been asking for you too."

"Sheesh, I picked the right time to get up, didn't I? Okay, I'm going to check in with the ladies, and then I will be _back_ as soon as I can to see Luke. In the meantime, I have my phone, if he wakes up or something, please let me know right away."

* * *

He met Victoria in the waiting area a minute later.

"Thanks a lot, you didn't have to come all the way up here."

"Oh it wasn't that far, I just grabbed a cab. I figured you two were going to need some things, and the guys showed me where your _stockpile_ was in the Den." She finished with a twinkle in her eye.

"Oh yeah, _that_. We get caught up down there for _awhile_ sometimes, so we keep a lot of junk we need at their place."

"Well I just wanted to make sure you had everything you needed _here_."

* * *

Donatello had been dozing in one of the other beds in the Lab for about four hours, leaving Leonardo to sit by Mike. He startled awake suddenly when his phone vibrated, scaring the sleeping Tiger who'd been practically on top of him. The cat immediately leaped off the bed as he groped around for his phone.

"Hello?"

"Donnie, sorry for wakin' you."

"Ah no, you're fine Marc." He answered with an audible yawn. "What is it, what's going on?"

"They're taking Luke off of the coma-inducing drugs. It will probably be awhile yet before we really know where he's at, but at least the pressure is down. I saw Katherine a few minutes ago too."

"Yeah? How's she doing?"

"Alert and very talkative. I think she would have barreled out of that hospital room last night if she had the use of both legs. What were tiny hairline fractures of the femur has turned into a very bad break now. She's going to need surgery to repair it."

"Gee, if only she knew a really good orthopedic surgeon."

"Ha ha. She requested me from the management, and asked me if I would be okay with it. Of _course_ I'm gonna do it...probably wait another three or four days. We need some more time for the swelling to come down."

"That's great of you to do for her Marc."

"I haven't forgotten what I owe to that woman...and I'd feel better doing it myself regardless. How are things below?"

"Quiet. Mike's vitals are good...just waitin' on him to wake up."

"You _were_ asleep when I called weren't you?"

"_Yes_ Marc, I'm still in the Lab, but Leo is sitting up with him now."

"Alright, then get some more rest, and I'll call you if anything changes here."

"I'll call you when Mike wakes up."

"Do that. Talk to you later."

* * *

Donatello settled back down, and actually didn't stir again until the shift change was in progress. He sat up with a long stretch.

"Hey Raph."

"Hiya genius, hope we didn't bug you."

"Nah, I'm cool."

"I was just about to work on getting some lunch together Donnie," Leo called to him from the doorway. "You've _got_ to be hungry."

"I can come out there Leo, I should probably be up now anyway."

"Marc asked us to try and keep you _off_ your feet bro." Leo negated. "So you stay put. Do you feel more like ham or leftover turkey?"

"How could I turn down day old turkey? There's still some gravy left, isn't there?" Donnie asked.

"It's in the blue container in the fridge." Mike announced sleepily, raising his head to look at them.

Everyone about gave themselves whip lash from turning around so fast, and Donatello immediately got to his feet.

"Mikey. Nice to hear your voice." He said with a grin.

"I guess I lived." He said tongue in cheek.

"Yeah, everything went pretty smoothly...for _once_. If you're up to it, I just want to check things out on you real quick, make sure all your parts are functioning correctly."

"You make me sound like a used car."

"I prefer the term 'pre-owned'."

"Do you think you could eat Mikey?" Leo spoke up.

"Are you kidding? What time is it? I feel like dinner was two_ days _ago."

"No turkey for you just yet Mike. You gotta work your way back up to it." Donnie lectured him.

"Yeah, well...you guys had better save me some of it."

* * *

April had taken the time to refresh and get something to eat with Victoria in the cafeteria, before going back upstairs to see Katherine.

The woman was sitting up when she walked in - a little pale and clearly bruised, but a dim fire still seemed to burn behind her amber eyes.

"Hi Katherine."

"April, thank God. I swear I'm gonna go crazy in this place."

"Is there anybody we should be calling for you?"

"No, not really. My brother and sister are still in the Caribbean, will be for another...ten days? I'm just tired of lying here, and I want to see Luke."

"You're not used to being shut down, are you Katherine?"

The woman laughed a little.

"No, but I don't really have a choice at the moment, do I? _That's_ the hard part. I can't believe those idiots completely busted my hip." She said in irritation, and then got a little more serious. "I can't believe Luke is up there in critical condition because of _me_."

"It isn't your fault Katherine."

"It's hard to not feel like it _is _April."


	39. Catching Up

Another full 24 hours passed, with neither Marcus nor April leaving the hospital. They kept a watch on Luke for as many hours as the staff would allow them to, switching back and forth between one of the two of them staying in the room.

It was around 11:30 am the next morning when Luke finally did start to come around, barely managing to open one eye. The other was still too swollen. He slowly took in the immediate surroundings that were available to his impaired sight, roving over the right half of the hospital room.

_Hospital. I'm __alive__._

The thought almost struck him as being humorous. He wanted to sit up, but he knew better than to attempt it. The residual effects of sedation weren't enough to block out the pain that pulsed from simply _breathing_. Still, he wanted answers, and he would have to move _something_ in order to get them. He fastened onto the sight of the remote for calling the nurses' station, clipped securely to his railing. He started to reach for it with a grunt, barely closing a finger on it.

"_Luke_?" Someone in the room had been rather startled to hear him, and darted upright to enter his line of vision.

"Marc." He croaked out softly in return. "You're here."

"So are _you_ finally." His friend replied with a very relieved smile.

"Katherine..."

"She's alive Luke, in the hospital here too. In traction this time unfortunately, she's gonna need surgery for her hip."

"The guys?"

"They probably made it over there in about the nick of time."

"Are they _okay_?" He asked more pointedly.

"Mostly. Let me take a look at you for a minute, alright?"

"Aren't you off the clock?"

"This one's a freebie. Save your breath for a few seconds, and let me test some reflexes."

Marcus went through the whole nine yards with him to verify motor skills and his mental awareness.

"So you've got a pretty good grip on what happened?" Marc asked him.

"A good portion, I think. How long was I out?"

"A little over 48 hours. I should go ahead and tell the staff you're awake now."

"Hang on a second." He protested weakly. "You never told me about mostly."

"What are you talking about?"

"You said they were _mostly_ okay. Who's hurt and how?"

"Mike is, and I'm not going into details about it yet. You behave for the doctors, and I promise to explain everything to you later."

"_Marc_..."

"_No_, that's the only deal you're getting."

* * *

Luke expected that Marcus would be back after the doctors were done with him - but he was pleasantly surprised to see April come in instead. He was feeling a little bit better with the aid of increased pain killers, and actually managed a smile for her.

"Sorry I took so long." He cracked when he saw her, but she wasn't smiling. In fact, he could see tears in her eyes.

"Hey, what's with the waterworks huh? I'm here, you're supposed to be happy." He said a little sternly.

"I _am_ Luke, believe me. I'm just so relieved and overwhelmed and...there are a ton of emotions going on inside me right now."

"Thanks for bein' here."

"It wasn't easy at first, the staff wouldn't really tell me anything."

"They _wouldn't_? Dang it, I have you as one of my _primaries_--"

"So I heard, but they were pretty insistent on getting ahold of Marcus first, and he was _rather_ occupied."

"With Mike? I suppose you know what's going on with him?"

"He's stable and doing great - Marc will explain the rest later. I asked him to let _me_ see you first, because there's something I feel like I need to say to you. I swore to myself when Marc and I got involved, that I wasn't going to let it interfere with_ our _friendship. But I feel like it has. While I've had all this time waiting to think, I've been going over this last year, and realizing how much I've let slip away. I'm so sorry Luke."

"April, what are you talking about? It hasn't slipped away, and ya'll _sure_ haven't left me by the wayside. Where is this coming from?

"Luke, when's the last time _we_ did anything together, when Marcus wasn't around?"

"What does that have to do with anything? We're _all_ friends, whether we're with Marc, or down with the guys."

"I just have these great memories of stuff we used to do, talking after midnight, movie marathons...bakery runs. We were so close for awhile there Luke, and I just realized how much of that has gotten away."

"It hasn't gotten away from us April, it's just _different_ now, and that doesn't mean it has to be bad. Our lives have changed, we're not in the same place that we were years ago. I think of it sort of like a deepening effect, like we're past the 'let's just hang out because I'm bored and you're here' phase, and into something that's actually _closer_ in my opinion.

No things aren't the same, it's not just the two of us anymore. You opened me up to an entirely new opportunity, a way of life that has brought more healing than I ever thought I could possibly have. _You_ did that April. You trusted me enough to bring me into their world---"

"Was desperate enough you mean." She inserted.

"Whatever the method. I wouldn't be here right now if it weren't for you. Well, I mean, I don't mean the hospital specifically...aw, you know what I'm saying. You've given me something a whole lot better than undivided attention - you let me into your inner circle. So quit being hard on yourself, okay? It's not to say that we _couldn't _still hang out on a personal level like that sometimes. I'm just not going to let you think I've been left out somehow. It hasn't been like that, I swear."

She released a shaky breath.

"You don't know how good it is just to see you awake. Hey, I'm having Victoria work on getting some contraband in here from Cecil's bakery."

"Oh now you're talking."

* * *

Luke went back to sleep awhile later, and when he came around again, the first thing he saw was a familiar (if unexpected) face.

"Hi Luke."

"Kat. They turned you loose already?"

"Not even, don't you see my wheels? I barely talked them into letting me see _you_, and I'm pretty sure Marc had his own pull with that. I didn't want to wake you up, you have to still be tired."

He fumbled with his remote to raise the back of his bed slightly.

"No, I'm glad to see you. So you're going to need surgery huh?"

"Marc's gonna do it when the swelling goes down a bit more."

"He's one of the best in the country Kat, I'm sure you'll come through it great. Have you talked to your family yet?"

She shook her head.

"They're still on the boat Luke."

"They don't have cellphones?"

"Sure, but unless they're in a harbor somewhere, they won't even have a signal."

"You haven't even _tried_, have you?"

She didn't answer him.

"Kat, you said you didn't want to do this with them anymore. Maybe you'll reach 'em, maybe you won't. You should at least try."

* * *

With his urging she wheeled out of the room about ten minutes later, just to satisfy him with an attempt. April met her in the hallway, and Katherine held up a hand to stop her from taking her anywhere.

"Just a minute - I told Luke I would try this." Katherine told her with the phone to her ear, and then paused to listen to it ring. She jerked upright a second later when she heard her brother's voice.

"Brandon! I wasn't expecting you to answer! Uh, no, I'm not disappointed, just surprised. Did you have a good Thanksgiving? That sounds amazing...no I had a good one too, maybe the best one I've had in a long time. No, that's not supposed to insult you, it was just a really good day. I'd love to do it all over again, with the exception of how it ended. Luke was taking me home and--_what_? No he didn't try that, and what am I, 14? I _can_ handle myself you know! It was nothing like that.

A few months ago, I was helping head a case involving an organized crime family, where one of the suspects ended up dying in a fire. Well his older brother popped back up on the radar, holding _me _personally responsible for it. So on our way home Thanksgiving, our night suddenly got a bit more harrowing..."


	40. Making It

Raphael and Donatello had managed to work in a bit of sparring practice, both enjoying the feeling that came from the physical exertion. They were kicking back a bit now after going at it for awhile, both breathing a little hard from the workout.

"Not bad genius. 'Course you know I was holding back so I wouldn't hurt ya. If I jarred that knee the wrong way, Marc would take my head off."

"Oh I'm _sure _you were Raph." Donnie replied with a grin, but noticed that his brother's returned expression didn't feel quite genuine. He had in fact felt distracted all morning, and made a couple of strange mistakes in their spar.

"Raph, what's wrong?"

"Do you _need_ to ask?"

"I _do_ need to if you don't tell me outright."

"It's hard enough to deal with when I'm _not_ talking about it." Raphael said crossly.

"This isn't the time to start building walls again Raph."

"Darn it I _know_ Donnie, it just hurts to talk about it."

"It hurts_ all _of us Raph, that's why it doesn't make sense to hold it in."

"Do you know how many times I've come down here in the middle of the night, just to check if he was still alive? What can I _say_ about that?" Raphael paused for a few seconds, staring hard at the mat beneath them. "This _waiting_, not knowing, it's got me all tied up. It almost feels like_ I'm _on death row, just waiting for the inevitable. It's hard to act normal, but I've _been_ trying. Lately I've just been doing a lot of listening, you know? He's bringing up a lot of the past."

"Same here. I think part of him just wants to relive it, but more than that, he wants_ us _to remember how good it was."

"It wasn't _all_ good Donnie, don't ya remember that one winter...What was it, when we about had that blizzard? You were like seven I think, but you should still have some memory of it."

"I do remember it, for those cold nights if nothing else. Remember how the pipes froze?"

"Remember how _sick_ I was?"

"I sure do."

* * *

"We don't have any of the real lighter fluid stuff Leo, but I'm pretty sure we can use this regular cooking oil. The bottle says that it can burn real easy, you just gotta get higher heat under it. It would help get the fire _going _anyway, and we just gotta take care of it from there." A young Dontello was telling his brother.

"Isn't using that stuff kinda dangerous?" Leonardo asked him.

"It's safer than using somethin' with like cleaning chemicals in it. We just need a way to contain it, keep it in one spot."

"That's easy, the bigger metal cans would probably hold it - but we only have a couple of 'em."

"That's all we need. One for Raph upstairs, and the rest of us can hang around the one down here." Donnie shot a look at Mike, shivering though he was already bundled up on the couch. "We can't keep _this_ up anyway. We need to get some heat in here."

****

Splinter was in one of the upstairs bedrooms with Raphael, starting to prepare another packet of herbs - which he'd forgotten he couldn't finish without _hot_ water. He bent over his trembling young one, touching his forehead with the back of his hand. Their situation was more desperate than he had wanted to let on to others downstairs. The heat aspect was uncomfortable, but at least they had a way of of generating their own. Water was another story - and they couldn't simply go without it.

He felt a little lost at the moment. Splinter knew full well that they needed supplies from the surface, but he was loathe to leave Raphael by himself. He was fairly certain the infection was contagious, so he'd refused to allow the other boys anywhere near him for the last two days.

There was a knock at the door, and he went out into the hall to see Leonardo.

"Sensei, Donnie knows how to get the fires goin' for us."

"Good, that is very good my son. I will come and get the matches."

As they both walked down the stairs, he caught Leonardo's pointed glance.

"Master, you know that grocery warehouse, just a coupla streets over? I was thinkin', maybe you could let me go. We _need_ stuff."

"Leonardo..."

"I can _do_ this. I'm ten years old, and I've been there _with_ you like a hundred times."

Splinter gazed at him for a moment without speaking, wondering if he was actually going to consider this. Their options were truly limited.

"We _need_ water Leonardo." He finally said very quietly.

"They should have it already in jugs or something, right?" Donnie spoke up from his other side. "I could go with him - we make a couple trips it wouldn't take long."

Splinter wasn't sure of the right thing to do. On one hand, it would be completely exposing them to the elements, and they'd never tolerated the cold very well. But they couldn't _last_ without supplies, and Raphael would certainly suffer for it.

"Alright." He said finally. "Leonardo, do take your brother - it be will faster hauling with two of you. Is the raft still usable?"

"Yes Master, I was thinking the same thing." Donnie answered.

"What 'bout me?" Michelangelo squealed as his older brothers began bundling up in heavier layers.

"I need you here with me Michelangelo, you're going to have to keep the fire going." Splinter told him.

"Oh. How do I do that?"

"Just keep an eye on the can, and if it burns too low, you need to come and get me."

"You want me to babysit the trash can?"

"You're guarding the flame." Splinter said importantly.

His face brightened somewhat. "Okay! I can do that."

****

Splinter was somewhat frustrated after they'd left, and found himself pacing the bedroom floor upstairs.

_They're so young, so vulnerable. Should I have just gone myself?_

He forced himself to hunker back down after a couple of minutes, and was about to address their own fire situation upstairs when he noticed Raphael stirring from a troubled sleep.

"Master..." He whispered. "My head hurts."

"I know Raphael, I am sorry. Hold on with me, and it will be better soon."

"I'm cold."

He huddled closer to the young turtle for a moment, drawing him near to his chest.

"It's going to be alright. I'll get a better fire going in here."

"Like we're campin'?"

"Yes Raphael, just like camping."

"I wish we could go for real."

"We will someday my son, I _promise_ you that."

"Have you ever slept in a real tent?"

"I have, I was probably about your age the first time."

"Was it this cold?"

"Let's try not to think about. Give me just one moment here."

He carefully lit one of their precious matches, dropping it into the steel can that Donatello had prepared for him. He was relieved to see it ignite so easily.

"It's kinda cool." Raphael mumbled. "Look at the shadows."

"_Yes_, the shadows. See here Raphael, look at the wall. Now here comes the eagle!"

He laughed as his Sensei cast the bird shaped shadow across the wall with deft fingers.

"Do another one!"

"Okay, now I want you to try and _guess _this one..."

* * *

"I still remember what it felt like going out that night." Donatello mused. "I think I pretended that we were explorers on some grand quest."

"We always seem to make it through somehow, don't we Donnie?" Raph said. "We don't have a choice except to keep plowing forward. I'm just gonna miss him so much...I can't even describe..."

Donatello put a strong arm on his brother's shoulder.

"You don't have to. Just remember that we're in this together, okay?"


	41. Motivation

Marcus had been dozing in the chair in Luke's hospital room for a few hours. He'd been moved out of the ICU the day before, and it gave them a lot more freedom to stay nearby him. April had been forced to leave for work, but would be back in the early afternoon. The only job Marcus had taken on was Katherine's surgery, and they wouldn't be moving on that for a couple more days yet.

He'd woken up a couple of times, and just listened to Luke breathing. It was such a beautiful sound to him. Donatello had been checking in roughly every six hours or so to find out how things were holding up, but had yet to actually talk to Luke himself.

It was around six in the morning when Luke started waking up again, and Marcus sat up straighter immediately.

"Hey. How long have you been here?" He asked sleepily.

"Few hours...I've been asleep mostly."

"You don't have to stay here like that Marc - I'm not expiring on you, I promise."

"I just want to be _with_ you - you can understand that, right?"

"With as many nights as one or both of us have sat over the guys, yeah, I guess I can. Feels different to be on this end."

"Feels different to _have _you on this end. It was really rough doing a surgery without you. I feel so much confident dealing with their issues when you're _there_."

"C'mon Marc, you know what you're doing."

"_You're_ the trauma guy Luke."

"From what you told me, it sounds like you had a good handle on the situation. Have you talked to any of them lately?"

"Donnie checks in frequently, I think this is totally driving him crazy. He'd kidnap you out of here himself if he thought he could get away with it."

"What time is it right now?"

"Why, you want me to call him?"

"Sorta. Is it too early?"

"For him? Probably not. He wouldn't mind either way, hang on just a second."

Marcus picked up the hand-held receiver from the table, and dialed Donatello for him. He picked up on the second ring, clearly wide awake.

"Donnie, hey, it's Marc. Were you up already?"

"Yeah, I just finished changing Sensei's filter for him. What's going on, how's Luke?"

"He's doing okay, he actually wants to talk to you."

"Oh cool, put him on."

Marcus held the phone for him, and Luke's voice was the next thing he heard.

"Don?"

"Doc! It's great to talk to you."

"Easier to find out what's really happening this way. I get tired of bugging Marc."

"Things are pretty normal down here, I put Mike on tetrozine to curb off any infection from that wound track. Sensei is about the same. How are you feeling, should I _dare_ ask?"

"Okay, as long as I don't try to _move_ anything. They're doping me some too, so I really can't complain." Luke paused for a second before continuing. "I didn't get to thank you guys. I knew you'd come after us. Was I right about that panic button, or was I right?"

"You were _right_ Doc, I should have installed those to begin with years ago. I'm sorry we didn't get there faster, I tried--"

"Stop it Donnie. You saved our lives, I'm allowed to just be grateful aren't I?"

"I suppose. I just wish we could have saved a few more parts of you."

Luke started to laugh, but had to cut it off. It hurt too much.

* * *

A couple of hours later Raphael brought Jenna downstairs, and she hobbled into the Lab where Donatello was working.

"G'morning." She announced cheerfully as he darted up from his desk to see her.

"Hi Jen."

She kissed him lightly, wrapping both arms around his shoulders.

"I didn't want to interrupt you, I just wanted to see you for a second at least." She told him.

"I won't be a whole lot longer - I'm in the last stages of mixing up some new tetrozine."

"Don't let me keep you from working Donnie, I know you still have that code error thingy to deal with too."

"Nah, I fixed that last night in about twenty minutes. I'll have April drop the hard disc off for me when she can get a spare _second_."

"How much is that thing worth again?"

"To the company that needs it? A couple G's, something like that."

"Not bad for twenty minutes work." She laughed.

"There's a good reason that I don't negotiate _hourly_ rates babe."

She gave him another parting kiss.

"Well then, finish this drug up, 'cause I wanna see you."

"Will do Jen. Hey, if you see Mike will you ask him to get his shell back here? He was supposed to come like half an hour ago, he better not be trying to work out or something."

"I'll see if I can find him."

"Don't stress about it or anything, he just needs another round of the antibiotic."

* * *

"...I don't care Sensei, I wanna hear it again." Mike was saying at that very moment.

"I knew that ninjitsu would be a good physical and mental outlet for all of you, I just wasn't sure if you were too young at the time. But you couldn't stand the thought of your brothers getting to do something that you couldn't. I didn't have the heart to tell you that your coordination might not be there yet."

"I turned _out _okay, didn't I?"

"Better than _okay_ my son. But it was not easy to begin with."

* * *

"Michelangelo! Sit down, NO, now put that down, it is not a _toy_!" Splinter exclaimed as he plucked one of the wooden practice staves out of the youngster's hand.

_Am I out of my mind, trying to teach a three year old ninjitsu? I know they occasionally begin at this age, but I have never imagined what it would be like to train one so young. Donatello is not much older, but at least he can sit still for longer than two minutes._

Michelangelo sat down with a bump, his pouting expression displaying the fact that Splinter's tone had hurt his feelings.

"I am sorry my son," He said more quietly. "But if you want to _learn_ like your brothers, you have to _act _like them, see? You must be able to listen to me, can you do that?"

He nodded vigorously, drawing up slightly on his knees the way his brothers already were.

"Okay. Who can tell me what one of our most important rules is, anybody?" Splinter asked of no one in particular.

"No talkin' to strangers?" Raphael suggested.

"Don't play with the matches." Mike added.

"Yes, yes those are important rules young ones. But can you tell me an important rule about _fighting_?"

"Don't do it unless somebody else starts." Leonardo jumped in.

"Very good my son, that is something very important for all of you to understand before we get started. I can spend a lot of time teaching you, but if you're going to use ninjitsu the wrong way, it would be better for you not to learn at all."

"What's the wrong way?" Donatello asked.

"That's a good question my son, and the very thing that I want to talk to all of you about."

"Yeah, but when do we learn the chops and flips and all the cool stuff?" Raphael spoke up again.

"In time. Ninjitsu involved much more than just your physical bodies. They will have to be trained very hard, but your frame of mind is just as vital."

"Our frame a what?" Mike asked.

Splinter sighed as he searched for the right words.

"You need to understand why you're fighting, and have a clear picture of what needs to happen through it."

"We're supposed to _win_ right?" Raphael offered.

"I hope that you would never undertake a battle where that was not possible Raphael. But what I'm really talking about is knowing the appropriate time to use ninjitsu at _all."_

"To defend ourselves." Leonardo answered automatically.

"Oh, and others too." Raphael added quickly.

"_Exactly_. No matter how _good_ you are, it isn't right for you to fight just to prove it. You must only use it for defense."

"In defense of what Sensei?" Donatello asked. "There's just_ us _down here."

"That's true Donatello, there are just the five of us here right _now_. But we cannot guarantee that will always be the case. I will not force any of you to do this, and I must warn you in advance that it will be _very_ hard work. It will mean early mornings, hours of training, and very sore bodies. If you are willing to put in the effort demanded, then I stand prepared to teach you everything that I know."


	42. Intersect

Luke was on the verge of dozing off again, when there was a light knock at his door. He raised his head slightly - one of the only motions that he could perform without very much effort.

"Come in!"

He grinned as widely as he was able to when Katherine wheeled herself inside.

"I was _wondering_ when you'd be back." He teased her.

"Sorry - it's an ordeal just getting them to let me do _anything_."

"You could just call y'know."

"Do you really feel like holding a phone Luke?"

"I'd hold one to talk to _you_."

She raised up slightly on her armrests and kissed his hand, pretty much the only part of him that she could readily reach herself while confined.

"That's sweet. But after _all_ this, I wanted to see you in person."

"That was one _heck_ of a Thanksgiving. How in the world is Christmas ever going to measure up? Dang, I hope I can get _out_ of here before Christmas. Do you know that they're holding me hostage? Aren't there laws against that somewhere?"

She laughed openly. "They're holding _me_ hostage too Luke, but you'd better just make yourself comfortable. You're not going anywhere 'til they say you can safely."

"Oh, but _you_ can go wherever you please."

"_I'm_ not the one who got beat on for over twenty minutes by one of the most notorious crime families in North America."

He sighed heavily, becoming suddenly serious.

"I just don't want to be stuck here. God only knows how much time Master Splinter has left, and I hate being cut off from them."

"I know, and I'm sorry." Katherine said sadly. "It wouldn't have happened if I'd been paying attention, if I'd only been aware. They _had_ to have been watching us, or they never would have known your car. I'm so sorry I got you dragged into this."

"Hey," He said softly, reaching her hand with as much effort as he could muster. "If I've learned_ one _thing from the guys, it's that things happen for a reason. This isn't how I pictured the holiday ending up...but I'd rather be here going through_ this_, than attending your funeral, you understand? So no more 'sorry' talk...it's not necessary."

She gazed at him for a moment without speaking, and then plunged ahead.

"I talked to my brother."

"Great! Did you_ tell _him everything?"

"For the first time in about five years. He's coming to New York when the boat docks. My sister has to return to California for her kids, but he managed to get a substitute to cover him a little longer at work. I've told him about you...he wants to meet."

"Should I be scared?"

"I don't know Luke, the way you faced down those thugs, I don't see my _brother _intimidating you too much."

"Oh that was_ nothing _Kat, I was acting more than anything else."

"Luke, you're no _good_ at acting, remember? Seriously, I've seen _agents_ crack under less pressure than you were under. Don't take this the wrong way okay? But I had no idea you had it in you."

"Neither did I." He said with a grin. "It helped knowing that the guys would be coming to get us. That, and I guess once you've been threatened by Australian terrorists, it's all downhill from there."

"Australian _what_?"

"I just got into a minor altercation a few years ago with some pretty bad guys. This one with a knife scared me more than _any_ of those bullies with guns. I guess you had to be there to understand." He said dismissively.

"No, now _hang_ on, you have to tell me this whole thing."

"It's a _long_ story Kat."

"Do you have somewhere else to be?"

"I have somewhere I'd _like_ to be."

"Well in the _meantime_, we're both stuck here. So spill!"

He released a long pent up breath.

"Oh alright...it was actually really stupid on my part, the guys had never wanted me on surveillance to begin with."

"Surveillance?"

"I told you, it's a long story that pretty starts and ends with _Jenna_."

"You said they were Australian, so I guess that makes sense." Katherine said, and then jolted as if something had suddenly occurred to her. "Wait a minute. Wait a _dag-gone_ minute! _Jenna Richards_. I knew I'd heard that name somewhere before! It was something to do with a case. I wasn't on that one, but I remember hearing a ton about it. This was six years ago right? She was kidnapped from a museum, her trail lost somewhere in Central Park?"

"You're getting very warm."

"The guys saved her?"

"Donatello did, he was the only one there at the time. That was the _same_ little encounter that almost killed him off, and got me introduced into their world on that very night."

She couldn't help laughing out loud. "I _cannot_ believe this. It's a good thing I can't tell anyone - they'd never_ believe _me anyway! So what, she just stayed in hiding with them after that?"

"They kept her safe underground until the terrorists could be rooted out. Of course we nearly acted too soon after the Feds caught a couple of them. Her parents were worried and desperate to get her back, so we were helping to make that happen. The guys set up a little operation just to make sure she returned without any issues, and it was a good thing they did. It ended up being another trap on the terrorists' part, and they had to hightail her out of there."

"When did you come in?"

"I was being a look out on the ground, hiding in my car. Everything was going okay on my end until I tried to leave..."

* * *

Katherine stayed there listening to him for another forty minutes, until one of the shift nurses discovered her there.

"Weren't you supposed to be back on the third floor half an hour ago?" The woman demanded.

"I don't know. Was I?" Katherine asked innocently.

"Miss James..."

"Alright, alright, I'm_ going_." Katherine said, squeezing Luke's hand tightly one more time. "I wanna hear more of this. I feel like I have a lot of catching up to do."

"It can wait." The nurse said sharply. "He ought be resting, and so should _you_. Don't you have surgery tomorrow?"

"It's not like I have to _perform_ it." Katherine muttered. "All the more reason for me to see him today."

"Well say goodbye, and I'm taking you back downstairs."

"Good luck Kat - you're gonna be fine." Luke told her.

"I'll be back when I can. And uh...I'll call you in the morning before I go, okay?"

"Yeah, now let her take you, or they'll call the orderlies down on you. You don't want that, believe me."

* * *

Katherine had no sooner gotten back to her own room, than she found someone else waiting for her.

"Greg Heffernan, what do you think you're _doing_ here? Aren't you supposed to be climbing something in the Rockies?"

"I'm your _partner_ James, I can't believe you didn't call me! I had to hear it from Taylor!"

"Why would I interrupt the first real vacation you've had in two years to tell you about my broken femur?"

"Maybe 'cause of _how_ it got broken?" He shot back.

"Greg, I'm fine, please don't go getting all mushy on me. I was gonna tell you, I just didn't want you to rush back exactly like _this_."

"Are you _really_ okay James?"

"Yes, I am. I'm scheduled for surgery tomorrow, so that sounds like fun."

"What about your boyfriend? I heard he was laid out _bad_, I'm sorry."

"It _was_ really bad...but he came through the worst of it. He's conscious, didn't suffer any brain damage thankfully. He still has a ton of recovering to do." She got emotional with the last words, surprising Greg. He'd never seen her cry before.

"He took the fall for me Greg. Luke baited those idiots into attacking him, trying to distract them from hurting _me_. I could have cost him his life."

"You _know_ it ain't your fault James."

"My work always ends up spilling over into my personal life somehow. That's why it was easier not to bother, just to worry about myself. At least I didn't have to worry about someone else getting hurt that way. _That's_ out the window now."

"Now hang on a second James, you're not thinking of breaking it off, are you?"

"Part of me would like to, I feel so horrible about this. But I think I'm in way too deep with him to try and back out now."

"You _really_ care about him."

She nodded.

"He's already changed you James, in a _good _way I think. You'd better not let him get away. Don't let _Terelli_ steal that from you."

"I have no intention of that."


	43. First Time

About a week later, all four brothers had finally gotten a work-out in_ together_.

"Nice to have you back Mikey." Leonardo told him as they flopped down in a circle on the mat.

"I think I really coulda been back a couple days ago, but _somebody's_ a little overprotective." Mike complained.

"Mike, you got _shot_!" Donatello protested.

"It was just a flesh wound."

"That took almost two hours to dig out?"

"A minor detail."

"You're lucky Doc's _not_ here Mike - he probably wouldn't have signed off on you for _another _couple of days yet." Donatello told him.

"When's he gettin' out Donnie?" Raph asked him.

"It's gonna be a couple more weeks at least, if not more." He replied.

"Well _that _sucks." Mike exclaimed. "Heck, you could watch 'im just as well down here, if not better."

"He still needs surgery for his shoulder, and he's definitely not ready to be moved like that yet. But believe me, I want him here just as badly as you guys do."

"What about Kat?" Leo asked.

"She's sticking around the hospital for some therapy - I think mostly because it makes it easier to stay close to Luke."

"She really digs him huh?" Raphael said with a grin. "Boy we sure can pick 'em."

"_You_ didn't even want me talking to her, remember?" Donatello reminded him with a laugh.

"That's right...I guess we _do _have your big mouth to thank for all this. That'll be a nice story they can tell on their tenth anniversary." Raphael cracked.

"Aren't you getting the cart before the horse?" Leo pointed out.

"Just trying to stay optimistic." Raph replied.

"Try letting _them_ do it." Donatello said a little sarcastically. "Not everyone needs a helping hand or a _fake flu_." He finished emphatically with a glance at Mike.

"Hey, that wasn't just _my_ idea." He argued lightly.

"Actually I think _that_ part was Mike." Leo spoke up again.

"Yeah maybe it was - but ya'll went along with it! And getting them both outside the Den alone _wasn't_ my idea."

"Just don't start using your own version of psychology on Doc and Kat, they don't need it." Donnie said insistently. "It's funny how things change, isn't it? Growing up I always felt like we were okay, but when you compare our lives _now_ to what it was then, it's like night and day."

"It's certainly more interesting now." Leonardo remarked.

"I don't know about that Fearless," Raph countered. " I seem to remember you and I making stuff pretty _interesting_ on our own." He finished with a mischievous smile.

"Like what?" Mike asked.

"Do you remember our first time taking somebody down for _real_?" Raphael asked Leo with a meaningful look.

"_Do_ I." He said dryly. "I was so afraid to go home - I thought we were going to be punished til the end of time."

* * *

The twelve and thirteen year old turtles made their way back inside the Den as quietly as they could possibly manage, both freezing when they heard something. But it turned out to only be Donatello, pouring over some manual by the coffee table. A mostly deconstructed CPU tower was on the table too, one of the pieces that he'd trash-picked only a couple of days before with their Sensei.

"Are you still messin' with that thing Donnie? That piece of junk is never going to work. Why do you think they threw it _away_?" Raphael scoffed at him.

"Not in a _day_." The ten year old answered. "But give me a couple of weeks, and you might be surprised."

"While you're down here playing with that thing, _we're_ up on the surface doing important things." Raphael said proudly. "If you get that running in two weeks, I'll call you _genius_ until the day you die."

"You don't think I can do it? _Watch_ me." Donnie shot back.

"C'mon Raph, lay off of him. So what if he can't make it work? At least he's trying to do something useful." Leonardo said trying to defend him, but only succeeded in irritating him more.

"I can _so_ make it work, I just need a little time so I can..." He trailed off after looking at his oldest brother for the first time. "Leo, what's wrong with your hand?"

"What? Nothin' it's fine." He answered quickly. "There's nothing wrong with it." He repeated.

"Yeah _huh_, I can see it from here!"

"_Can_ it Donnie, he just needs some ice for it." Raphael told him with a dirty look.

"Why do you need ice?" The Sensei's voice startled all three of them out of their shells.

Leonardo swiftly dropped the hand that was cradling his injured wrist, trying to hide it at his side.

"Leonardo, come here right now and let me see it." Splinter commanded.

He obeyed wordlessly, going to sit on the couch while his Master probed his very swollen right wrist.

"Donatello, please get me one of the ice packs from the freezer. This is a very bad sprain. You both come back late, and with no supplies. What happened up there?"

"Well, see...I..." Leonardo hesitated as Raphael shot him a menacing look.

_C'mon bro, we worked on the story for like twenty minutes, don't blow this, _Raphael silently told off his older brother.

But Leonardo was further drawn to his Sensei's steely gaze, who seemed to sense that he was grasping for a lie.

"I'm sorry Sensei." Leonardo finally said. "I got into a fight."

"A fight on the _surface_? Both of you?" Splinter clarified, and Raphael resisted the urge to roll his eyes at his brother.

"Yeah Sensei, both of us." Raphael answered. "It wasn't that big a deal. Everything was fine on our way to the warehouse, until we ran into this girl--"

"You got into a fight with a girl?" He interrupted.

"_No_ Sensei," Leonardo quickly negated. "She was being hurt by these three boys, they were trying to make her do something bad. We didn't know what to do. We started to go around 'em, but she was screaming and crying, carrying on....we just...we couldn't leave her like that."

Donatello had since returned with the icepack, but one look at his Sensei's penetrating gaze at his brothers made him decide to make himself scarce. He snatched his manual off the table and backed slowly out of the room.

"There were three of them, did you say?" Splinter asked.

"Yeah, bigger than us, but they didn't know how to fight." Leo said clearly. "One of 'em was using a bat, and I wrenched my wrist bad when I was taking it away from him."

"Did they get a good look at you?"

Raphael and Leonardo exchanged a glance.

"I don't think so Master, at least, they didn't _act _like they did. The girl ran away as soon as we charged in, and the boys left when they figured out that we were beating them. I'm really sorry Sensei, we just didn't have time to run back here and get permission." Leo explained.

Splinter stared at them for a good long moment, and then shook his head. "You did the right thing."

"We _what_? You mean we're not in trouble?" Raphael was startled.

"How can I fault you for doing _precisely_ what I have you to for the last six years?"

"Does...does that mean you'd let us do it again?" Leonardo ventured.

"In the right situation, for the right reasons, yes, I would be willing to--"

"Oh my word, this is so cool!" Raphael interrupted.

"Sit _down_ my son. There are conditions, and you haven't heard them yet."

"Yes Sensei! Sorry Sensei."

"The first one is that two of you must be attached at the hip when you're on the surface. I won't have you separating or wandering off on your own. You will not fight unless you are _together_, is that clear?"

"Yes Sensei." They said together.

"The same rules for fighting still apply. You will not engage someone unless they threaten you first, and even then, it should be a last resort. If you have the opportunity to escape without being seen, that is your first objective. If you are forced to defend someone else, you must carefully weigh your odds, and be certain that you can actually help the situation.

I forbid you to go out _looking_ for trouble. You will not spend an excessive amount of time on the surface, searching for victims to rescue. If you run across them in your normal path, if you are together, and if you can handle their numbers, you have my permission to act. But I will _not_ have you lording this over your younger brothers either. I don't want them involved in this kind of thing yet. In time I may give you more room to act in these situations, but for now, they should be kept to an absolute minimum, is that understood?"

"Yes Sensei!" They proclaimed happily.

"And I want to hear about it, every single time. Do not hide these encounters from me!"

"No Sensei!"

****

And so it begins.


	44. Deck the Halls

_About Two Weeks Later_

* * *

Splinter was considering his possibilities of Christmas specials that he could watch on TV later in the evening, when there was a light knock at his door.

"Come in." He called out, sitting up a little straighter. He smiled when he saw Jenna peek inside the door a little shyly. She'd only gotten rid of her cast a couple of days ago, and was enjoying her new found freedom.

"Come _in_ child." He repeated, chuckling slightly at the reference as she pulled up a chair nearby him. "I can't honestly call you that anymore can I? You're practically grown. But compared to me, you _are_ still a child."

"I'll never be too old for you to call me that."

"How are you doing? Is there anything interesting going on out there?" Splinter asked her.

"Well they've decided to let Luke go _tomorrow_, instead of Tuesday. Donnie and Marc are busy getting the Lab set up properly for him."

"I cannot wait to see him." He replied. "But what about the _rest _of the Den, is _it _ready?"

"I don't know what you mean."

"The poor man has been in the hospital for three weeks. Last time I checked, things were still looking pretty _normal_ down here, and Christmas is only a week away."

"Ah, now I understand. We've talked about it a couple of times, I just don't think anyone's heart was really in it."

"_That_ will not do, it won't work at all. We have to fix this!" Splinter told her emphatically.

"Fix it?"

"I will _not_ have a dark cloud dampening over this holiday. Give me your arm Jenna."

"Master Splinter, should you be--"

"Believe me, I know my limitations. Just help me get out of this room, we need get moving at once."

* * *

The living area was barely lit, and Leo, Raph, and Mike were simply lounging in front of the TV for the moment. A banner scrolling at the bottom of the screen was proclaiming the Winter Storm Watch for the impending weather in the area.

"Now just what do you think you are doing?" Splinter demanded of them from behind the couch.

All three scrambled upright guiltily, very surprised to see him there.

"Sorry Sensei!" Leonardo spoke up first, quickly turning on a couple more of the lamps.

"Would you look at all this, it's a disgrace. We're supposed to bring Luke home to _this_?" Splinter asked pointedly.

They looked around in confusion as to what he was talking about.

"We've been cleaning up after ourselves Sensei, honest." Raph replied.

"That's not good enough." He replied severely. "Christmas is a week away, and you haven't done a _thing_ with this Den. Now you're all going to have to get a move on! Luke can't come back to this." He finished with a smile.

"That doesn't give us much time, but we'll get it done Sensei!" Leonardo proclaimed with a laugh.

"I'm just going to _sit_ right here and make certain that you do! Turn that TV off and get us some music. It's the holidays, can't we _act_ like it a little bit?"

Victoria ducked in from the kitchen just as he was finishing his statement.

"That's absolutely right." She agreed. "I've been thinking the exact same thing, and Jenna and I could get anything you need from the surface."

"Alright, hang on, we need a game plan." Leo insisted. "Uh...Raph, will you help me start hauling stuff out of storage? Mike, it would be great if you'd go through it with the ladies. They probably have a better eye for doing this than we ever have. We just need to make decisions pretty quick, because it's already almost 3pm. If there's shopping to be done, it better happen soon. What about food?"

"I'm a step ahead of you Leo - Mike and I already talked groceries earlier today, I have a list and everything." Victoria told him.

"With the snow they're forecasting, people are going to be acting like it's the end of the world. The sooner you go, the better off you'll be. Mike, where are the Christmas CD's, do you know?" Leo asked him.

"Forget the CD's." Donatello said from behind him. "I've already imported all that music into my MP3 player, I'll get it up for us. Sounds like we're actually going to have some_ fun _in here."

"It's _about_ time." Marc added.

As Donatello grabbed his dock so that his music device would play through the speakers, Mike came over to see him.

"How are things in the Lab Donnie?"

"We're in good shape there - what's the weather sayin'?"

"Could be 6-10 inches, but not until tomorrow night. They shouldn't have a problem getting Luke down here." Leonardo answered. "But we're in a rush right now to get the _rest_ of this place in shape. You guys wanna help?"

"Count us in." Marc told him.

* * *

It didn't take long to pull out boxes between them, and it was amazing how quickly moods had been completely transformed. For the last ten minutes, they'd started going back and forth about whether to use their old artificial tree, or let the others bring back a real one.

"We've only got a week to go, do we really wanna bother?" Leo asked.

"True, but we can leave it up through New Years'." Donnie pointed out.

"Tiger's gonna try to climb it." Raphael argued.

"She'd probably try to climb the fake one too - and you can get her down, right?" Mike said, just as he was nudging the cat away from a box of ornaments with his foot.

"I've never had a real tree in my entire life." Splinter spoke up from the couch. "And I _want_ one."

"Well that settles it." Marcus laughed. "I'll go up top with the ladies to give them a hand with everything. We'll probably finish shopping faster with three of us anyway."

"Are you sure you've got it all down?" Donnie was asking Victoria, as she glanced over two different lists.

"I think so - call me if you come up with anything else."

"Take my card." He told her. "And call us when you're getting close. We'll bring a couple of the Sliders out to help get everything back here easier. In the meantime, we'll start getting the foundation organized in here."

* * *

They were gone a couple of minutes later, and the guys were busy at work. Mike picked up Tiger off the floor after a couple of minutes of being in his way, and deposited her gently on the couch by Splinter.

"Leo, do you want my help untangling those?" He asked, referring to the lights his brother was testing.

"No Michelangelo, you have your own duties." Splinter reminded him. "I have not seen _one_ Christmas cookie yet. I find that rather disappointing."

"I'm on it Sensei!" He replied, sounding _genuinely_ happy for the first time in days.

Donatello sat down in a chair to repair a fuse in one of the strands of lights, and gave his Master an appreciative look.

"Thanks Sensei. This is the closest he's been to acting like himself in _awhile_." He told him.

"Yeah, and it's great, it really is," Raphael spoke up. "But Donnie, if you don't get the player _off_ of these chipmunks, I'm gonna hurt you."

Donatello jumped up to adjust his device. "Wait, a second, who put that song on _repeat_?"

It quickly occurred to him that Michelangelo had been hanging around over there only minutes ago.

"Mike!" He yelled in the general direction of the kitchen, and they could clearly hear him laughing from inside.

"Correction, I'm going to hurt _him_." Raphael announced.

Mike stuck his head back out the door a second later.

"I just wanted to see how long it would take." He said with a grin.

"Would you _like_ to find out how long it takes me to shove this string of lights down your throat? Stick to baking." Raphael shot back.

* * *

It was late morning on the next day when Marcus called Donnie to let him know that they were getting close with Luke.

"Great Marc - I'll grab a Slider and pick you up at the entrance. See ya in a few." He told him happily.

Donatello ended up arriving there a couple minutes after they did, and could distinctly hear their voices before he got outside.

"Marc, my legs are _fine _y'know, it's okay to let me walk." Luke was complaining.

"I'm just trying to get you to be careful." He replied.

"Don't start givin' him a hard time _yet _Luke, he can still turn this buggy around." Kat warned him.

Donatello ducked under the entrance and saw all three of the humans huddled nearby in the cold.

"Doc!"

The man's face actually lit up when he saw him coming. Luke embraced him with his good arm as fiercely as he could manage.

"Dang it, I missed you guys." He told him.

"We missed you too Doc. C'mon, let's get inside, it's _freezing_ out here."

* * *

"So when's April comin' down?" Donnie asked once they were all settled in the Slider.

"She'll be coming around five. Did you see they're saying we could get a _foot_ of snow now?" Marc asked him.

"So we heard. I did some service work this morning on the important fixtures _just_ to be prepared. We don't want a repeat of some of our past struggles." Donatello remarked.

They arrived at the Den in minutes, and Donnie got the door open for them. He walked Luke directly inside first, and a wide smile grew across his face as he took in the whole place.

"Wow, this is something. It looks like the scene from a Christmas card in here. Did ya'll get a _real _tree?" Luke asked.

"Sensei wanted it, he wanted _all _of it to be honest. There hasn't been too much Christmas spirit around here as of late, but I think we're all coming around now. You finally being here tops it off."


	45. Dump

Marcus and Donatello helped Luke get settled inside the Lab, which they had also decided to spruce up a bit for the holidays since he would be spending a lot of time there.

"Good to have you _back_ Doc." Mike told him. "It felt really weird not having you around."

"I could go two months without seeing the inside of another hospital." Luke said dryly.

"That's all good if you don't start giving us any trouble." Marcus said mock sternly. "I pulled really hard to get you out sooner Luke - don't _make_ me take you back."

"Wild horses couldn't drag me. I kept waiting for one of the guys to break me out." Luke joked.

"I suppose you wish we would have phoned in a threat on_ that _building." Mike spoke up.

"It could have worked."

"Doc, you're something else." Donnie laughed. "Marc's right though, you're _gonna_ take it easy, aren't you?"

"Trust me, I don't feel like doing _anything_." Luke assured him with a tired smile.

* * *

Splinter had gone back his own quarters to rest after awhile, leaving Leo, Raph, Jenna and Katherine sitting in the living area. The TV was tuned in to the weather channel, but muted so they could actually talk.

"So Luke finally explained to me about you got mixed up in everything Jenna." Kat was just saying.

"Did he? I suppose he also told you that ended up being his own way in too." She replied.

"He_ did _mention that, among a few other things. There's only one thing I don't understand though, and Luke didn't know the answer to it. Why in the world was Donnie even_ in _Central Park before the sun was down?" Kat ventured.

Leo and Raph exchanged a somewhat guilty look, each wondering who would speak first.

"That was _pretty_ much our fault." Leo finally said slowly.

"Donnie didn't usually go off on his own like that, especially for that long." Raph added. "You _could_ say we sorta drove him to it."

"We were hard on him." Leonardo admitted. "Donnie was _always_ really smart, even as a kid. He had his own ideas about the way to do certain things, and I'd never really liked it. He was one of the youngest, and in my _own _immaturity, I thought that meant he needed to step off and just follow our lead." He paused for a moment to glance at the two women. "We ganged up on him bad that afternoon. Mike was occupied with Sensei, doing one of those private testing sessions that seem to go on and on. While that was happening, we seized our own opportunity."

* * *

Six Years Ago

(The Argument that was actually the precursor to "Anger & Serendipity")

Donatello was bent over his medical scanner with concentration, as he finished splicing a new wire to replace the one that was badly burned. He had brought it out of the Lab with him when he'd gone to get something to eat, and ended up getting preoccupied with it again before he'd finished his sandwich.

"Dang it genius, when are you gonna get a _life_?" Raphael shook his head at him. "You've been in that Lab all day, and you can't put that thing down long enough just to_ eat_?"

"I'm almost finished with it." Donatello told him evenly. "I just want to get it up and running."

"Donnie, it's been pretty cool, a lot of the things you've been able to do since April got work for you on the surface. And the income has been incredible to have...but we think that you're taking it too far with your gadgets." Leonardo said carefully.

Donatello slowly put it down, and made an intense effort to keep his tone from becoming irritated.

"You guys don't have the faintest idea _what_ I've been working on, never cared either. Why do you have an opinion about it all the sudden?"

"Because it's like you don't even have your feet on the ground anymore, and it's gonna hurt you and Mike." Leo replied.

"What are you talking about? In this last year and a half, for the first time we've have access to things that we never even dreamed of before. I'm not supposed to take advantage of that? This isn't a _hobby _y'know, I'm working on this stuff to help all of us. And why would Mike be hurt by it regardless?"

"Because he follows you around like a lost puppy." Raphael scoffed.

"Maybe he _follows_ me around because we can actually get along for more than an hour at a time!"

"Donnie, all I'm sayin' is, if you spent _half_ the time on your forms that you do tinkering with this junk, you'd be a better ninja for it." Leonardo said plainly.

"What do _you_ know about our work-outs?" Donatello shot back. "I train with_ Mike_, and we work hard! Don't _talk_ to me about being a better ninja, I always put the time in!"

"If you really put the time in, maybe you could get yourself a _real _weapon." Raph muttered.

"Are you seriously talking smack about my _bo_ now? I couldn't care less to carry a blade!"

"I'm afraid that you two are falling behind." Leonardo cut in.

"Have you heard a thing I've _said_? We work just as hard as you do, we've been doing it earlier in the morning! Sensei doesn't have an issue with the things I'm working on, why the heck do _you_ suddenly care so much?"

"It's all about priorities Donnie." Leonardo said firmly. "And Mike is _with_ you so much that you're effecting his too. You don't have to go off the deep end."

"I don't get why you guys are even talking about this! Why don't you just _leave_ me alone, and worry about yourselves? How would that be?"

"It would be fine, until we're all on the surface one day and we have to save you from a royal beat-down!" Raphael told him.

"Mike and I have trained for as many years as you guys have. Just because you're a couple years older than us doesn't mean you have act like you're so much _better_ than we are!"

"Get your head out of the clouds, and maybe we won't _be_ so much better than you are!" Leonardo snapped at him.

That had been the last straw for Donatello. He jerked upright from the table with a seething look, fists clenched in front of him. Without another word he stalked by the both of them, and jerked his cloak off the hook. He walked out the door, slamming it as hard as he could without looking back.

* * *

(Present Day)

No one said anything for a moment when Leonardo was done telling it.

"Wow. You guys weren't _always_ like that with him, were you?" Jenna finally asked.

"Not _all_ the time...but way too often. That's probably why both he and Mike gave us a pretty wide berth in those days." Leo answered quietly.

"You should be thanking them Jen." Donatello told her from the door with a slight smile. "If they hadn't ticked me off, I never would have been there to find you."

His brothers glanced at him a little shamefully, and Donatello sat down on the couch across from them.

"Why are you guys getting into this anyway?" He asked them.

"My fault." Kat spoke up. "Luke told me about how you met Jenna, and I asked them why you were out there before dark."

"And we were just explaining what _nice _big brothers we've always been." Raph said sarcastically.

"Well that's all water under the bridge now, isn't it? I think we've moved pretty far past all that in the last few years." Donnie said, intentionally keeping his tone light.

"Yeah..." Leo said thoughtfully. "It's not like that's the _worst _thing I've ever done to you anyway."

Donatello caught his sideways glance, and knew exactly where he was heading with this.

"It's not like ya'll were always the bad guys." He protested. "Even _I_ can admit I was full of myself sometimes. But we learn, we grow, we don't live in the past." He finished emphatically.

"It still has a way of _effecting_ us." Leonardo said quietly.

"Leo, don't do this, please?" Donatello verily pleaded with his older brother.

"Donnie, _someday_ she's gonna ask how it happened. As long as we're dumping anyway, I prefer to get everything out on the table."

Donatello crossed his arms in serious irritation, but didn't say anything.

"I'm _really _sorry." Kat said quietly. "I wasn't trying to start something here. I can mind my own business."

"Kat, if you're here, it _is_ your business." Donatello said apologetically. "We don't keep secrets from each other, and I'm _not_ trying to hide anything from you. We've just been over this particular issue a whole lot, and sometimes I still get the feeling that Leo carries around too much guilt over it."

"If it were that easy to get rid of, I would have stopped a long time ago Donnie. I don't think about it all that much anymore, but you have to understand that I can't get rid of it completely."

"Get rid of_ what_?" Katherine finally asked.

"Are you gonna tell her or not Fearless?" Raphael asked him. "We sure can't leave her hanging now."

Leonardo hesitated for a beat of silence, and then looked at Donnie. "Do you mind if I--"

"Oh, just get it over with already." Donatello said a little crossly.

"Seriously, if it's gonna bother you--"

"Just don't start walking around here_ moping _or anything. We're supposed to be keeping the mood up, remember?" Donatello interrupted him again.

"I won't Donnie, promise."

"This must really be some story." Kat said evenly.

"All I'm going to do is ask you not to look at them any differently when you hear it." Donatello told her.

"Why would I do that?" She asked.

"Because Raph and I broke the cardinal sin, and Donnie paid a heavy price for it. I was going through this insecure _frustrating_ phase, and ended up taking a lot of it out on_ him_. Then came the day that I decided to take matters into my own hands, and deal with it as I saw fit. Raphael and I turned what was supposed to be an innocent spar into something with far more devastating consequences..."

* * *

Editor's Note: And if you don't know what happened next, you'll have to read "Broken" to find out. :)


	46. Fun & Games

Donatello had woken up just before 6am the next morning, and rose off the mattress with a bit of a stretch. He was surprised to not find Mike on the top bunk, and immediately ducked out into the hall to look for him. He wasn't upstairs, but there were already Christmas lights on in the living area. As he started down the stairs Tiger trotted after him, weaving around his feet with a loud purring when he reached the bottom.

"Hungry Tiger? Hang on a second."

He went into the kitchen, but Mike wasn't there either. Donatello took a moment to refill Tiger's food and water bowls, and heard the front door open as he was turning around. When he ducked back out into the living area, he was surprised to see Mike walking _inside_.

"Where on earth did you go this early?" Donnie asked him.

"I wanted to see the snow."

"You better have dressed for it. What's it like up there?"

"It's awesome, and it doesn't look like it's stopping anytime soon. You should come see it today."

"I'll do that, but uh...what's with the cooler?"

"Oh _that_. I thought our brothers might like to see the snow too." Mike answered slyly, and then motioned towards the stairs. "You wanna come with?"

"I prefer to let sleeping dogs_ lie _Mikey."

"If you always let them lie, how will you know if they're even _alive_?"

Donnie pondered his statement for a second. "That doesn't even make sense."

"It doesn't have to. _C'mon_ Donnie, do it for me?"

Donatello sighed, just as Jenna was heading down the stairs.

"Mornin'." She said. "What are you guys doing?"

"We're gonna go hit a bull with a red flag - I'll let you know if we _survive_." Donatello said with a wry smile as Mike pumped his fist triumphantly.

* * *

Outside their door, Mike split his missiles with Donatello, and motioned for him to be quiet as he opened it. Leonardo and Raphael were clearly still sound asleep. They didn't regularly get up as early as they had when they were younger, not since Donnie and Mike almost always took the early work-out routine when they were in their normal schedule.

"Leo, Raph, wake up." Mike suddenly announced cheerfully.

Raphael grunted something indiscernible and turned over to face the wall on the bottom bunk. Leonardo just barely opened bleary eyes to try and make Mike out in the darkness.

"What?" He said sleepily.

"C'mon you guys, you have to get up. The snow's here!"

"Get _lost_ Mikey, it's too early!" Raphael grunted at him.

"It's okay." Mike said as he ducked down by his mattress. "You don't have to come up - I can show ya here."

When the snowball slammed into Raphael's neck he nearly hit the mattress above him, as he struggled to wrestle out of the covers with a growl.

"Heads up Leo!" Donnie called to his older brother, who glanced his direction just in time for a snowball to explode in his face. He jerked upright in surprise, only further exposing himself to flying snow.

Raphael was on his feet by now. "Don't you _ever_ learn?"

He held up his arms protectively, but the assault commenced full force to his extreme irritation. When another found it's target on his jaw, he forcefully launched himself directly at Mike. A well thrown snowball between the eyes stopped him long enough for Mike to dart out of his reach, and he and Donnie bounded out of the room.

"Nice _shot_, thanks Donnie!"

"I don't think it's over Mike - that felt _way_ too easy!"

* * *

Raphael would have charged directly after them if Leonardo hadn't grabbed him by the shoulder.

"What are you _doin' _Fearless, aren't we going after them?" He demanded.

"Wise old Japanese man say, 'don't get mad - get _even_'."

"That's _not _a japanese saying!" Rapheal seethed as he tried to reach the icy slush that was running down his back.

Leonardo laughed as he brushed it off of him. "The point is, we can chase 'em down now, or we can get _back_ at them later. And I know how to do it."

"It had better be good Leo." Raphael grumbled with a little shiver.

"It will be...and they can just sweat it out _wondering_ in the meantime."

"Better than _freezing_." Raph muttered as he flopped back down on his bunk. "Dang it, he got it all wet! Did you see Donnie throw that last one? They should _both_ be dead right now."

"Patience Raph...patience."

* * *

Around mid-afternoon Donnie came out of the Lab, in time to see Leonardo about to walk out the door.

"Hey, where y' going?" He called to him.

"We gotta go to the van. Raph left the cable for his player in the front seat."

"He _coulda_ used mine."

"He didn't wanna have to ask you--"

"Because I told him not to forget it?" Donatello filled with a chuckle.

"Yeah. So I'm supposed to tell you we're going to check out the 'snow'."

"You guys dressing warm enough?"

"We won't be long Donnie, be back soon."

* * *

Roughly half an hour had passed when Donatello's phone rang, and he scooped it up off of the desk.

"Don, it's Leo." He said a little shakily. "We uh...we just had a little accident with the Slider."

"Are you guys _alright_?"

"Yeah, yeah, we're fine, not a scratch. You remember that curve you were always tellin' us to be careful on? I think we took it a little too fast, I'm really sorry."

"The important thing is, you're okay. You_ are _okay?"

"Yeah, but we're gonna need help. It's stuck now, Raph and I couldn't budge it. It might take all four of us to get it out. It won't start either, can't get the engine to turn over."

"Alright Leo, we'll meet you out there, just stay put."

"Here's the thing Donnie, we're actually already on foot, pretty close to the van. Raph didn't want to waste the trip, so we might not _be_ there when _you_ get there."

"I'll just get started on it whether you are or not, and ya'll can catch up."

* * *

Donatello told Mike and the others what was going on, and they were out the door a couple of minutes later.

"I can't believe I agreed to keep this quiet - I feel like I'm betraying him." Jenna complained as soon as they were gone.

"Leo and Raph are gonna retaliate whether you keep it quiet or not - at least this way we know what kind of time window _we're_ dealing with. You talked to your Mom, right?" Marc asked her.

"I'll tell her they're gone so she can get started. Hopefully it'll be ready before they're back."

"We'll _be_ ready." Marc said with a half grin.

* * *

It didn't take Don and Mike long to find the abandoned Slider, wedged at a strange angle in the basin. Donatello went to inspect the craft, and immediately tried to start it. Leo was right - it wasn't coming close to turning over.

"Actually, it doesn't _look _bad." He commented to Mike as he searched the exterior. "I wonder why it won't start."

He took off his belt and electronics to keep them from getting wet, and shrugged out of his warmer layers. The water wasn't very deep here, it barely came to his knees as he tried to get a better look at the Slider. Donatello gave it a bit of a shove, and felt it give slightly.

"Oh wow, it's really not stuck too bad either, feels like we could make some headway with it. Mike, can you pull from that end, and let's see if we can get it flat again."

They righted the craft in the water and Donatello pulled it up on the side with Mike's help.

"Okay. Let's see what's going on under the hood." Donatello said, glancing around for his bigger flashlight. He didn't see it right away, but then remembered with a snap of his fingers. "I left it in the other Slider."

Mike followed after him as he went to retrieve it, holding the layers he'd taken off.

"It's cold - would you put this stuff back on please?"

Donatello stopped for a moment to oblige him, and went to grab the light while Mike waited. As they crossed back over towards the damaged Slider, Mike suddenly stopped in his stride.

"Did you hear something?" He asked Donnie.

Donnie dropped his flashlight to the side, cocking his head slightly. "Yeah...something...it wasn't too loud, but--"

Before he could get another word in, a veritable deluge of water came down from the large pipe above them. The sudden pressure was startling and cold, nearly driving both of them to their knees. It only lasted long enough to completely drench them, their extra layers suddenly feeling like they weighed a hundred pounds.

Donatello had accidentally inhaled water the wrong way, and ended up choking up a storm as he collapsed on his shell. Their brothers leaped down from their perch _above_ them, and Leo instantly dropped his wrench and ran to check on Donnie.

"Hey, hey you alright?"

It took him a moment to realize that between gasping for air, Donatello was actually _laughing_.

"You...deserve...an _Oscar_." Donatello finally managed to gasp, and it was finally safe enough for the others to actually laugh too.

"Oh _sure_, it's all fun and games until someone stops breathin'." Mike cracked, wiping water from his forehead with the back of his hand.

"There's probably some human on the surface...wondering what happened to their water pressure." Donatello added.

They laughed harder at that, and Leo moved to grab a hidden bundle.

"Here, come on, get out of that stuff." He encouraged them, holding out the blankets they'd brought.

"You came _prepared_?" Mike asked.

"Well sure, we wanted to get _back_ at you, we didn't want you to _freeze_ to death." Raphael said with a grin, lightly punching his shoulder.

"So wait, what the heck did you do to the Slider?" Donatello cut in.

"Nothing, I just detached the battery - it'll pop right back in." Raphael replied with a wink.

"Oh, that was _good_...you guys had me goin'." Donatello proclaimed.

* * *

Donatello and Mike were the first to duck back inside the Den while the others were finishing up the two Sliders. They froze in their step when they nearly ran into Jenna and Marcus standing directly inside.

"Shh, keep movin', get outta the way." Jenna hissed at them, and she and Marcus got back into position.

Mike had to actually cover his mouth with his hand to keep from laughing out loud, and they darted further inside the Den to watch what was going to happen.

Leonardo came in first with a slight grin.

"What's this, a welcoming committee?"

But neither Jenna nor Marcus moved until Raphael came into sight as well. Then they attacked without a spoken word with Victoria's hastily made whipped cream, shoving two pies each in the brother's faces. The ensuing laughter was so loud that Victoria couldn't resist looking out from the kitchen.

"Dagone it, what is the_ deal_?" Raphael demanded severely as he wiped his eyes, but suddenly couldn't keep from smiling as he smeared a handful of cream in Marc's face.

Leonardo threw a glance at Donatello and Mike, but they held up their hands innocently.

"Uh uh, we didn't have _nothin'_ to do with this!" Mike told him.

"Yeah, we only knew about 60 seconds before you did!" Donatello added.

"You coulda warned us." Raph complained.

"We _could_ have." Donatello acknowledged, and then walked over to give his girlfriend a high five.

"Sorry guys, when you told us what you were planning, we just decided we wanted in on some of the action." Marcus spoke up.

"I can see why you guys get into this - that was fun." She laughed.

"Try bein' on the receiving end some time." Raphael told her with a grin, and then held out his hands in a little exasperation. "What are we, going for the world record of pranks pulled off in one day?"

"I think it's more like making up for lost time Raph." Donnie told him.

"Well we've made up _enough_ for today, right?"


	47. Resolution

It was very quiet, with the exception of Mike softly snoring on the top bunk, and Donatello dreaming deeply on the bottom. Mike's high-pitched yell jolted him suddenly awake, and the next thing _Donatello_ knew, he was absolutely swimming in semi-melted ice cream, chocolate, and shaving cream. He futilely tried to get it out of his eyes as he struggled upright, spitting the mixture out of his mouth.

"Ugh, what the heck _is_ that?" He demanded of Raphael, shivering as it ran down his chest.

"Shaving cream - sorry, had to improvise. Great coverage though - make a mental note of that Leo!" Raphael called, but his older brother was a little preoccupied running away from Mike.

"I hope you _saved_ some for the docs." Donatello cracked as he rubbed some of it on top of Raphael's head.

"We left a can for 'em, and Marc already knows they'll need more. We woke _him_ up like ten minutes ago." Raphael finished mischievously. "You _said_ I'd eat your fist if I touched your girl, so--"

"You came up here instead." Donatello filled in with a laugh, as Raphael threw a towel at him.

"I have to admit I feel a little more satisfied. Leo's all about the intrigue, but the waterfall didn't do it for me yesterday. _Now_ we're even."

"Serves me _right_ for listening to Mikey."

* * *

A couple of hours later, Donatello returned to the Lab to find the docs. Luke was still pretty pale, but seemed very happy to see him.

"Kat tells me ya'll have been acting up." He said as Donnie came in.

"I got my _own_ wake-up call this morning - but I suppose I had it coming." Marc offered with a grin.

"The rules for pranks and retaliation are quite simple. Nobody gets hurt, nothing gets destroyed, and you've gotta clean up whatever you _mess_ up." Donatello told them.

"I'm surprised your Sensei doesn't come down on it." Luke said.

Donatello shrugged. "I think he figures that we're restricted _enough _as it is - and he's not a potential target. _Ever_. I don't usually get into it this much, except for birthdays of course, and the occasional retaliation. But I was just so happy to see Mike _conniving_ again, I probably would have walked on fire if he'd asked me to."

"He's takin' this really hard, huh?" Luke asked gently.

"Yeah. We've _all _been talking, it just doesn't really help. One or two or _all _of us will be okay for a few minutes, a couple hours, and then reality sets back in, and we're on the verge of collapse again. Then there's the constant pressure in the back of our minds to try and keep things positive, and act upbeat to support each other and encourage Sensei. It's sort of exhausting."

"Don't try and fake it Donnie, particularly with your Sensei. He's a lot smarter than that." Luke pointed out.

"I _know _he is, but I also want him to be confident that we'll be okay, that everything's not gonna go completely to pieces the second he's gone." Regardless of the strength in the words, his own voice was clearly breaking.

"Donnie, c'mere." Luke said softly, and he came to kneel by his bedside. "He _knows_ you're going to be okay."

Donatello dropped his forehead against the side of the bed.

"I'm just tryin' to convince _myself_ that." He finally cried, relinquishing to the unhappiness he'd been fighting so hard to keep under control.

Luke kept a hand on his shoulder, and didn't say anything for several moments.

"Donnie, when I lost my parents...I was lower than I ever thought I could possibly go. And I'm still here. With some help, I got through it...and you will too, I _promise_."

* * *

Leonardo had a little more lift in his shoulders that morning when he came in to see Splinter, and his Master immediately picked up on it.

"What have I been missing?" He asked impishly.

"Prank War." Leonardo answered with a laugh. "I had no idea it could feel that good just to mess around again."

Splinter smiled tolerantly. "It has never made very much sense to _me_, but I am no longer a young creature either. I suppose I may have found it amusing at your age, if I'd had the brotherly rivalry that you do."

"Sensei...the other day I told Katherine everything about Donnie's knee and what happened." Leonardo carefully changed the subject.

"Oh...how was that?"

"It was hard to start with, but it made me realize something. A lot of the guilt I've been carrying around is _trying_ to dissipate. That sick feeling in the pit of my stomach that I couldn't get rid of, I almost can't find it anymore. I'm not sure how I should feel about that."

"It is a sign of your restoration Leonardo - _not _a sign that you've become numb to it." His Sensei answered, knowing exactly what he'd been thinking.

"It's a little surreal. Forgiving _myself _has sure been harder than getting forgiveness from him was."

* * *

(Four Years Earlier)

Since Splinter couldn't be reached by the broken cell-phones, he had carried out the full length of his little retreat, only returning four days after the spar that had so badly rocked his two youngest sons. But the second he arrived home, he _knew_ something was seriously wrong. Even walking into the atmosphere set off miniature earthquakes in his spirit. No one was immediately in sight, so he dropped his bag and started looking around.

He saw lights on in the Lab and stopped by the window, jerking upright further when he saw Donatello. Luke saw him, and immediately dashed out of the room before Splinter could get inside.

"What is the matter, what's happened?" Splinter demanded.

"Master Splinter, you need to sit down." The man told him evenly.

"I am_ fine_, I want to see him! What is wrong in here?"

"_Please_ Master Splinter. There are a few things that you need to know before you go in there..."

* * *

"Leonardo! Raphael! Downstairs NOW!" Splinter commanded, feeling much more angry that he could remember feeling before.

Luke quickly got the heck out of dodge, while the two guys came downstairs slowly, as if they were about to face the firing squad.

"Is this _true_, what Dr. Barrows tells me?" Splinter demanded of them. "I want to hear it from your own mouths!"

"Yes Sensei." They practically whispered.

"But it isn't Raphael's fault," Leonardo added. "It was _my_ idea, it was all me."

"That is _no_ excuse - you _still_ acted of your own accord." He said, fixing his angry gaze on Raphael for the moment.

"Yes Sensei." He replied with a slight tremble.

"I will deal with _you_ later. Now leave us." Splinter ordered him, and Raphael had never been happier to get out a room in his entire life.

Leonardo sat unmoving, while Splinter paced. He'd been silent since Raphael had left, and that was fifteen minutes ago by now.

"Sensei, _please_ say something. Scream, yell at me, anything." Leonardo finally pleaded.

"I have been searching for the right words, and am unable to find them." Splinter said sharply to him. "What can I _say_ to you Leonardo? For fifteen years I have entrusted you, _counted_ on you to help protect, guide, and encourage your brothers. Now I turn my back for seven days, and you do something like _this_? All of your training, all of my teaching, has it meant _nothing_ to you at all? You've completely shattered the very _premise_ that your learning was based upon! You did the _very_ thing I told you from the beginning was not remotely acceptable!

If I were truly your _Sensei _and this was our _dojo, _you would never be allowed to set foot into it again. But you are my _son_, and this is our _home_. I do not know how to begin to deal with you for this Leonardo. You're going to have to give me some time to think. You have not seen your brother once since this happened?"

"N-no Sensei. I...I didn't...I don't know what to say to him."

"Figure it out, and get inside that Lab. Then go to your room."

"Master, I'm sorry--"

"Get out of my sight."

* * *

Jenna was at Donatello's side when Leonardo ventured inside, and immediately threw a scowl in his direction.

"I uh...can I talk to Donnie please?" He asked her.

Her eyes narrowed, but Donnie instantly spoke up.

"Jen, it's okay, I can handle this."

"Fine...I'll be back." She simply, and left them alone.

Leonardo didn't move immediately, breathing a little rapidly. After waiting several seconds for him to do something, Donatello propped himself up further on his elbows.

"What do you _want_ Leonardo?"

"I'm just...trying to figure out how to say this." He answered nervously.

"Are you really gonna try to talk to me from across the room? Get over here."

Leonardo sat down by him, but found that he couldn't meet his younger brother's gaze.

"If...if I said that I was sorry a million times, it would never feel like enough. But I _am_ sorry Donnie. I swear I never meant for this to happen." He broke down.

"Would you _look_ at me please?" Donatello asked him.

With great difficulty, he raised his head, and maintained eye contact with him. "I'm sorry, I don't know how to even--"

"Stop." Donatello said flatly. "You know you took it _way_ too far Leo. You really scared me to death."

"Yes." He answered softly.

"_Don't_ do it again." Donatello pronounced firmly, and collapsed back on the mattress as if he was finished.

"Wait, that's it?" Leo said in confusion.

"You've already _been _lectured by Doc, April, Jenna, and now Sensei I would wager. It is possible for me to say something that you haven't heard?"

Leonardo shrugged helplessly.

"It's over, so just forget about it, okay? I don't really wanna talk about it anymore."

"You wanna just _forget_ about it?"

"I'm_ not _okay with what you did Leo, but I'm not going to hold onto a grudge either. You can't take it back, so let's just try to move on." Donatello told him tightly, his eyes suddenly widening when he looked _behind_ him.

Leonardo felt a hand on his shoulder, and turned right into Mike's firm left hook. It was the absolute hardest his youngest brother had ever hit him, and the force of it sent him sprawling to the floor with his head buzzing. Mike was physically on top of him, right arm hanging somewhat useless, but still coming on strong with his left.

Leonardo wasn't about to fight back with his furious brother - Mike had every right to be angry, and he didn't want to hurt anyone worse than he already _had_. It was Raphael who had the difficult task of wrestling him off Leonardo from behind, while trying _not_ to dislocate his shoulder all over again.

"Mike _stop _it!" Raph said insistently as he fought like mad to get out of his careful grasp, very nearly escaping him altogether.

"I said I forgave_ you _Raph - I didn't say _nothin'_ about him!" Mike seethed in return.

"Mike!" Donatello yelled to get his attention. "Listen to me, _listen_ right now! It's _over_, do you hear me? It's done! Now quit this before you hurt your shoulder worse!"

"I don't _care_ about my shoulder Donnie!" He shot back.

"_Doc_ will, and so do I. Please just stop, it's not even worth it." Donatello told him more gently.

He finally relented enough for Raphael to let go of him, but he watched Mike very carefully to make sure he wasn't about to launch again.

Mike was still breathing very hard, glaring down his older brother. "_Darn it Leo_! If you _ever _hurt him again, it's gonna take more than _Raphael _to get me offa you."

* * *

"I never really thought things would be okay between us again." Leonardo told his Sensei quietly. "So many nights, I came close to walking out, and not coming back."

"You did the _brave_ thing my son. You owned up to your actions, and you saw it through to this point. Hold on to what you have now attained, and do not ever let it go." Splinter told him firmly.


	48. Winter Wonderland

Editor's Note: I'm gonna ask ya'll to bear with me a little bit over the next couple of chapters. I don't think music is an easy medium to express through this kind of writing, but it has such a powerful influence in my _own _life that I can't help but want to try and incorporate it. The song from this chapter is Avril Lavigne's "Keep Holding On" - look it up in another Internet window on Youtube if you'd like to get the full effect. Or don't. Whatever floats your boat.

* * *

In the early evening the four brothers and Jenna gathered in the Lounge for an impromptu run-through of the music for Christmas Eve. They were helping Jenna with her song first, as they'd agreed to back her up on it. Splinter had remarked rather off the cuff that the only thing he wanted from her for Christmas was the chance to hear her sing again.

"Are you guys sure I should sing this one? I mean, it works and everything, I'm just not certain about it." She was asking them a little nervously.

"It does seem to fit really well Jen, and you sound great on it." Donatello encouraged her. "Though I'm still not sure about _ours _either. You've got the better voice Raph, I still think you ought take it."

"We've been over this a _hundred_ times genius. The style suits your voice better than mine - _you're_ leading it." Raphael said firmly. "Now do we wanna run through Jenna's one more time?"

"Better to be safe." She answered as she picked her guitar back up, and glanced at Donatello to see if he would start it.

"Hold up a second guys, I think something's off." Leonardo spoke up, unstrapping his bass. "Just talk amongst yourselves." He said with a grin as he tried to tune one of the strings a little better.

Mike twirled his sticks impatiently, and broke into a random upbeat pattern. After a couple of minutes of it, Raphael fought to bring him back down to earth.

"Alright little drummer boy! I think we're set now."

Jenna looked at Donatello again, and he obliging hit the keyboard's opening chords. She joined him almost immediately lightly strumming the electric, and allowed the others to slowly build around her before she started singing.

_"You're not alone  
Together we stand  
I'll be by your side, you know I'll take your hand  
When it gets cold  
And it feels like the end  
There's no place to go  
You know I won't give in  
No I won't give in..."_

Jenna threw another little glance at Mike as a reminder to come in a little stronger as she moved into the chorus.

_"Keep holding on  
'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through  
Just stay strong  
'Cause you know I'm here for you, I'm here for you  
There's nothing you could say  
Nothing you could do  
There's no other way when it comes to the truth  
So keep holding on  
'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through."_

She gave the signal for everyone to come back down, as she proceeded on with the second verse.

_"So far away  
I wish you were here  
Before it's too late, this could all disappear  
Before the doors close  
And it comes to an end  
With you by my side I will fight and defend..."  
_

Jenna suddenly stopped both singing and playing, flinging her guitar pick in frustration as she broke down on the last lyric. "Geezy _Pete_, I don't think I can do this!"

Donatello rose swiftly from the keyboard to get to her, and she slumped against him despondently.

"It's too much! Between Master Splinter and my own father, I just...I don't think I _can_!"

"Jen, y' don't have to." He said quietly holding her. "You don't."

She glanced at him through tears, shaking her head strongly. "But I _want_ to Donnie, it means everything..."

He looked at her for a long moment, searching for the right words. "You wanna get out of here?" He finally asked.

"What?"

"You wanna get dressed warmer, and get out of here? Get some fresh air?"

"Yeah." She answered softly.

* * *

They both bundled up, and were out the door about ten minutes later. Donnie grabbed his bike for the sake of speed, and Jenna climbed onto the back of it as she'd done many times through the years. He'd made her some special handles to hold on the side, since there was no way she could get her arms around his shell. He hadn't told her where they were going, and she couldn't ask through their helmets. She simply held on, leaned her torso against his back, and enjoyed the ride.

It was quite dark outside by now, and she couldn't see the faintest flicker from any street lights where he ended up stopping.

"Where are we?" She asked him as the helmets came off.

"You'll see. C'mon, you can leave that here."

She set the helmet down and followed him to the grating. He pried it loose with a little more difficulty than usual because of the snow, and then gave her a firm boost out of it. He emerged shortly after her, into the winter wonderland that was Central Park. The big snow had moved off, but lingering snow bands were still dumping another couple of inches over the course of the night.

"Do you know where we are?" He asked her.

"It's the Park."

"Not just the park Jen - this is where we _met_! See? Those are the rocks I was tryin' to hide behind when they drove you up."

"Oh _gosh_, that feels like ages ago somehow. I was so confused when you came charging in - I had no idea _what _you were doing."

"Neither did _I_. That many men with guns, I was lucky I only got shot _once_. You feel like walking a little?"

"Yeah, sure."

They were quiet at first, enjoying the hush of calm that the snow seemed to create over Central Park.

"I love seeing the snow around Christmas time." Jenna finally said. "It can't be like this in Sydney."

"Cause it's _summer_, right?"

"Right - but try explaining _that_ to some of the college students I used to work with here in the US."

"How does New York compare to Sydney?"

"Mmm...it doesn't_ really_. Most Australians have been raised with a rather different mind-set, it's a lot more laid back feeling, even in the middle of the largest cities. That's a pretty far cry from the fast-paced rat race of New York City."

"Do you miss it?"

"There are certain things that I _know_ I will miss a little. There are these beautiful walkways down near the Harbor, they had all the coolest water features I've ever seen anywhere. That's one of the advantages of getting the Olympics to show up on your doorstep." She said with a grin. "What I don't miss is Chinese food. We lived right near the center of their version of China Town, and I used to get sick of just smelling it everywhere. Do you really care about this?"

"Sure I do. You hardly ever talk about living there."

"There's this fantastic indoor market I used to love to get lost in - it was only open Thursday through Sunday. I found myself there almost every week, searching for finds in the midst of all the touristy junk. The taxes are already figured into the prices, so what you see is what you actually_ pay_."

"Must be nice."

"You might think gasoline is a steal compared to the states, until you realize that they're charging by the liter, not the gallon."

"What about vegemite? I still don't get the appeal."

"Unless you're raised on it, you probably never will." She laughed, and stopped to take in the scenery again. "It's so pretty here - I'm glad we came up."

"Me too - I've been wanting to get out to see it anyway."

"Hey, do you see that star?" She asked suddenly, pointing at the sky.

He glanced up but couldn't see a single thing - the sky was completely overcast. "No...I can't see anything." He remarked, turning to look back at her just in time to take a snowball in the forehead. "Hey! Are you tryin' to start something here?"

He hardly had ducked a second snowball, before a third one slammed into his shoulder.

"I'm not _trying_ to - I am!" She taunted.

"Y'know, I'm not just gonna _stand_ here and let you--"

A fourth snowball found its' target squarely in his face.

"Right, that's _it!"_

He chased her off the path, running after her as she dodged between trees. He gave her the benefit of a little head-start, but still caught up quickly, wrestling her off the ground so that her feet were in the air. He dropped her into a snow drift, laughing when she still threw handfuls of snow in his direction. Donatello collapsed beside her, pulling at her hat so he could get a snowball under it.

A little breathless she held out her arms to him in surrender.

"Okay, you win!"

"What do I get?" He asked impishly.

"C'mere and find out."

He bent further over her in the snow and kissed her. She drew herself up further to reach him, kissing him back for several seconds. Their breath hung in mid-air as he finally pulled her upright off the drift, brushing snow off her.

"I'm cold Donnie, so I know _you've_ got to be freezing. You wanna head back?"

"Yeah, we better." He replied

With an arm lightly around her back, they made their way back through the snow to the grating.

"Thanks for this Donnie. Sometimes...sometimes it's easy to walk around like the living dead. And then you remember...you're still alive."


	49. Honesty

As Donatello drove them home, Jenna felt him tremble in front of her a few times. She lightly squeezed his shoulder a few minutes later when they pulled up near the front door.

"Are you alright?" She asked him.

"I'll be fine Jen, don't worry." He assured her, even as he fought off another tremor.

"You've been shivering the whole way back."

"You don't need to worry until I _stop_ shivering." He cracked with a grin. "Let's get inside."

Donatello headed straight for the Lab, knocking on the closed door.

"C'mon in." He heard Katherine call a moment later, and peered inside to find the woman sitting up beside Luke.

"Excuse me for a second - I just need to grab something." Donnie said apologetically, and Luke sat up further when he noticed him going for the meds.

"Hey, what are you looking for?" Luke called over.

"I just need the adrenal-heat."

"For who?"

"It's for _me_ Doc - I just got a little cold up on the surface."

"What's your temperature?"

"Doc, don't fret about it. You can see I'm taking care of things." Donnie told him evenly as he unwrapped a new needle.

"Well you've gotta keep an eye on it over the next couple of hours too, okay?"

"Will do Doc."

While he was preparing the solution, Jenna ventured into the Lab to check on him as well.

"What's that?" She asked of the bottle he was dealing with.

"A newer formula that Doc and I worked on over the summer - it's designed to raise our core temperature in_ minutes_. I want to eventually get it set up with an epi-pen style of delivery system, so that we could just carry it around easily with us." He explained to her, and then went ahead and injected himself.

"So you've tested it and all that?" She asked.

"No, I just thought I'd shoot up and hope for the best." He said seriously, and then laughed at the stricken look in her eyes. "I'm _kidding_ Jen - we don't put anything into our blood stream if it hasn't been thoroughly tested."

She laughed with a little relief and threw her arms around his neck.

"I'm sorry I got you so cold." She said with a playful whine, and he turned to kiss her.

"It was worth it babe."

"Mike was making ya something hot. Do you wanna stay here? I could bring it to you." She offered.

"Nah, Raph said something about a movie, I told him I'd be back. We should let these two be." He finished with a secret smile.

"Keep an eye on it!" Luke yelled after him as a reminder.

"I _will_ Doc, take it easy alright? I'll come back and see you later."

* * *

Luke shook his head as Donnie and Jenna left the room.

"It's so hard letting go." He murmured to himself, and looked up at Katherine to see a pensive look in her amber eyes.

"What?" He asked curiously.

"I was just thinking. If the two of them have been able to make it work for this long...torn between families, two different continents, and the biggest physiological barrier I've ever seen...what exactly do I have to be so scared of?"

She reached for his right hand suddenly. "If _they_ can make it, why can't we?"

"I didn't realize that was in question." Luke said quietly. "Is this just because of Thanksgiving?"

"That's part of it...I don't ever want to see anyone get hurt because of me Luke. But sometimes _I'm_ scared of getting hurt too. And it's like the deeper we go, the less chance I have of coming out unscathed if..."

"If I change my mind? If _you_ change your mind?"

"I don't know if I _can_ change my mind."

"So you're worried that I will."

"I don't know." She answered honestly. "That's just it, things happen, people change. My father didn't start out as Hyde, not that I'm trying to insinuate that you're _anything_ like him. I readily admit that it feels like irrational fear. Watching the two of them forced to face so many obstacles, I feel so ashamed for it. What I want is right in front of me, with very_ little _complications except for the normal relationship/personality clashes. I'm not trying to make_ this _more complicated. What I'm saying is I'm going to attempt to stop worrying so much, and start just trying to enjoy the ride."

"Kat, you've got to _tell_ me what's going on in there. I don't share your super powers, remember? This_ isn't _going to work if we can't be honest with each other, right?"

"Right." She answered softly.

"For instance, we've known each other for over two months...and if I'm being _completely_ honest, I have to tell you that I think I'm falling in love with you." He said with a half smile.

She was so startled that it came out like that she nearly laughed, but fought to keep it down. Katherine rose carefully off the chair to reach him as he sat up further, leaning against the bed to keep her weight off of her left leg. She kissed him deeply, running a hand through his blond hair that had grown out more while he was in the hospital.

"I love you too."

* * *

The guys had made room on the couch for Donnie and Jenna, and they had only just started to relax when Mike returned with a tray.

"Figured you didn't need the caffeine, so I went with tea. Are you gettin' warm enough?" He asked Donnie as he pulled his arms out of the blanket to take the mug from him.

"Yeah - it's doing the trick, and this'll help too. Thanks."

"Your welcome. Now _you_ too Jenna, I know you don't like the green stuff, so I fixed the raspberry special for you."

"Thanks Mikey."

He sat down on the other end of the couch and looked at Raphael over in the easy chair.

"Did you pick a movie?" He asked him.

"We've narrowed it down to two, Leo can make the final cut when he gets back, it's his turn."

Leonardo had left a few minutes ago to pick up Victoria from the van entrance. Another fifteen minutes passed before he and Victoria walked in the door, toting a few bags.

"What's all that Mom?" Jenna asked her.

"None of your business." She called back. "I need to go upstairs for awhile - no snooping."

* * *

Victoria went to work in the guest room, while Leonardo settled down in the living area with the others and cast his pick for the movie. It had been a little over an hour when Victoria set her packages aside and wandered onto the landing to see how things were going downstairs. A fond smile grew as she watched Jenna, enjoying every spare moment of happiness the girl was able to steal. She'd been so quiet that morning, obviously somewhat down when they had last spoken.

Victoria drew her sweater tighter around her shoulders, and fidgeted with her wedding band. The idea of not wearing it was still unthinkable. She walked back into the bedroom and sat down against the headboard, staring at the ceiling. The emptiness had bee threatening to consume her for days, and tonight was no exception. The time she had spent underground getting to know everyone had proved a helpful distraction, but Michael was by no means removed from her mind. Sometimes she ached for him so much that she could hardly breathe.

A light knock on the partially open door caused her to sit up slightly.

"Is it safe to come in?" Jenna asked.

"Uh huh, everything is wrapped." Victoria replied, and would have gotten up if Jenna hadn't motioned for her to stay. She darted over and climbed onto the bed with her. Victoria kissed her forehead and entwined both arms around her.

"Did you have an okay day?" She asked her.

"Tried to stay busy. Worked on some music with the guys. I'm still not sure about it, but I'm pushing forward anyway. How was yours?"

"Alright." Victoria said quietly, and Jenna looked at her to see if she would elaborate. When she didn't, Jenna nestled further against her.

"I miss him too Mom. I'm sorry."


	50. Home

Editor's Note: The song from this chapter is called "This is Home" by Switchfoot - and I would _strongly_ urge you to look it up, so you can get the full effect.

* * *

It was around 9am on the day before Christmas, when Raphael decided to pop in on Master Splinter. The door wasn't closed all the way, so he glanced inside and saw his Master fast asleep. He nearly walked away to give him his peace, but instead decided he would wait him out for awhile.

He didn't like usually like listening to his Sensei's breathing when he was asleep, it somehow seemed more strained than when he was awake. But this was where he wanted to be, so he hunkered down silently to wait, fighting off emotion as he watched him sleep.

_I'd rather it were __me__ than him. If I could give him my lungs, I'd do it in a heartbeat. We still __need__ him, dang it! This isn't fair!_

Raphael sat back in the chair, clenching his fists ever so slightly. He didn't _think_ he'd made any real noise, but his Master was stirring a moment later. He rolled his neck slightly towards Raphael, and managed a weak smile when he saw him.

"Hello my son. How long have you been here?"

"A couple minutes. I didn't wake you up did I?"

"I do not think so. What time is it?"

"A little after 9. Can I get your tea for you?"

"I will be ready for that in a little while, you may just stay put for now. Have you and your brothers prepared for tonight?"

"Yes Sensei we have...been working with Jenna too."

"Is everyone doing alright?"

"Sorta. We're up, we're down, not really one thing or another right now."

"So long as no one carries it _alone_." Splinter said pointedly.

"I'm not Sensei, honest. I...I think I've changed, at least a little in that respect. We _all_ have to grow up sometime, some of us just take a lot longer."

"You are not your brothers Raphael - there is_ nothing _wrong with that. Unity does not mean that you all must be the same, it is a combination of your strengths and weaknesses. You have much strength my son."

"I've still got a lot of weaknesses too."

"You must be patient with _yourself_ Raphael."

"If I haven't worked it out by now, it's hard to believe that I ever will."

"You said yourself that you have changed - and I am quite certain these next few months will be telling as well. But you must decide _now_ how you're going to react. You can do that you know."

"What do you mean Sensei?"

"You do not choose your feelings my son, but you can choose what you _do_ with them. Leonardo feels the heavy burden of responsibility, and he is going to need you Raphael. Your _brothers_ are going to need you."

"I'm trying, I really am. The thing is I'm...I don't think I'm as strong as I try to make to everyone think I am."

"You know what the_ true _measure of courage is Raphael, that it is not the _absence_ of fear, but..."

"But your actions in spite of it." He finished obediently.

"Mmhm. You see my son? It is all in there."

"Not _all _of it Sensei." He replied quietly.

* * *

Raphael spent about another hour with him, before going to meet Donatello in the Lounge. He was already sitting behind the keyboard, playing with some random chords and sound effects.

"Hey bro, you wanna work on some of the vocals like we talked about?" Raph asked him.

"If you're ready, that's cool." He replied as Raphael pulled up a stool alongside him.

"Okay, why don't you start it out then? We should probably do the full version, I'll come in with you on the chorus, and the bridge. Then maybe we can break down both our parts if we need to."

Donatello nodded and started to finger out the opening, leading into the first verse. The two of them hit the vocals hard for about forty minutes, ending with the acapella portion.

"Raph, the part sounds really nice, it's got a great blend."

"Yeah, you're letting me sing harmony for _once_."

"Don't kid yourself, I _know_ you love leading." Donatello told him with a grin.

"It's cool to sing something _different_ Donnie."

Donatello went back to playing with some chords as Raphael walked over to retrieve his guitar. He started lightly strumming along with what his brother was creating, and they lapsed into a creative silence. About ten minutes had passed before Raphael caught a sideways glance from him, and could tell Donnie wanted to say something.

"You know what I was thinking about before you got here?" Donnie asked him. "That first night that Jenna and I played in here, when we wrote 'Night Owls'."

"And you got busted by Doc at 4 in the morning?"

Donatello laughed. "It's hard to pull a fast one on him. I was remembering how Jenna asked me what was wrong that day I found her, why I was so mad. I didn't want to tell her the story at the time. I basically just summed up that I didn't feel like I fit in here. That we would always have each other's backs physically speaking, but aside from that...that I just felt really cut off."

Raphael stopped playing, looking down for a long moment. "I'm really sorry Donnie. I know we've been pretty rotten to you and Mike over the years."

"The thing is, I don't blame you guys." Donatello told him. "I was so awkward, half the time living in my own little world. It was easier that way, it was something that I could _control_. I've always felt like the square peg, trying to fit into a round hold. After awhile, I just stopped trying so hard. For years most of my effort had gone into trying to earn approval, and never feeling like it was enough.

But the _point_ of saying all that is, it's not the same anymore. It feels like things have evened out, and we're all living on the same level. For the first time I feel like I_ can _belong...just the way I am."

"I would never wanna change you for _anything_ Donnie. I'm so sorry for all my crap."

"Raph, I'm not saying any of this to make you feel guilty. I just wanted you to know where I'm at. This is part of the reason I asked if we could do _this_ song, I just connected really strongly with the lyrics. Is that corny?"

Raphael laughed. "_I_ don't think so. But so what if it was? It's Christmas - you're _allowed_ to be corny."

"Is that some unspoken rule?"

"Donnie, you've got chipmunks on your media player. What other time of year do you listen to _chipmunks_?"

"I put that on there for Mike." He laughed. "He gets a kick out of it."

"I noticed. We _all _noticed. If I have to hear it one more time, I might throw something."

There was a knock at the door a second later, and Leonardo ducked his head in a moment later.

"Hey, you guys need to get out here. You're not gonna believe the fudge that Victoria just put out."

They abandoned their instruments and met in a friendly embrace, before going back out to the living area.

* * *

Mike and Victoria spent a good portion of the day preparing for that evening, and for the next day.

In the late afternoon, Donnie took a moment to steal away on his own, while Leo and Raph were getting ready to start "Christmas Vacation" for everyone else.

"Where'd Donnie go?" Jenna asked when she walked back in with a bowl of popcorn.

"He's working on his little tradition upstairs." Leo told her. "We're supposed to steer clear."

"Hm." She said thoughtfully. "Go ahead and start the movie, I'll be back later."

She trotted up the stairs, knocking on their bedroom door.

"We're closed." Donnie called in a feisty tone.

"Don it's me, will you open up?"

He came to the door, pulling it open just enough to stick his head out.

"Do you come alone?" He asked mock seriously.

"Yes." She replied with a half laugh.

"Oh alright. C'mon in."

"What are you doing in here?" She asked when she saw various piles of things strewn over the rug.

"Stockings. I've been doing 'em for years. I like to wait until the day before Christmas, something to look forward to."

"Do you mind if I'm here?"

"Nah - yours' is already set aside. You wanna help me?"

"Can I?"

"Sit down, I'll explain what goes where."

They spent the next hour slowly filling stockings, and exchanging Christmas gift stories.

"The biggest surprise?" Donatello repeated. "It was probably the year I bought Raph his Stratocaster. I'd gotten that first big payout a couple of months prior, and I used a portion of it to help get the Lounge up on it's feet. I think he about had a coronary when he opened that case. He and I had been _sharing_ an acoustic we'd trash-picked before that. Thing was a piece of _junk_, couldn't hardly hold a tune. 'Course Master wasn't too keen on the idea of an electric guitar, until I explained about sound-proofing."

"I can only imagine his reaction - must have been something to see."

* * *

When they finished with the stockings Donnie and Jenna went back downstairs to watch the rest of the movie with everyone else, and to get their hands on the mini buffet Mike and Victoria had been working on. When they finished the movie there was an automatic shift towards the Lounge, where they'd already hauled some extra chairs earlier on that day.

Luke gave Marcus a little bit of a dirty look when he tried to help him.

"_Again_ Marc, there's nothing wrong with my legs."

"Sorry, my hands are off." He assured him with a smile.

April had arrived a few minutes ago, after signing off from the station. Now she threw and arm over Luke's shoulder in a friendly manner.

"Go easy on him Luke - you know it's hard to pull it back."

He gave her a wry smile, and held out his good arm towards Marcus. His friend met him with another arm around the shoulder as they walked into the Lounge.

Master Splinter, Katherine, and Victoria were already settled inside, waiting while the guys were finishing last minute set-up. Once everyone was inside and seated properly, Donatello nudged Jenna to go ahead, and she took her own place at the front. She exhaled sharply and cast a smile back at him, nodding for him to start it.

As she sang the song it became almost like an out of body experience, as if she were standing there listening to someone else. Jenna was surprised by the calm that had descended over her in the moment, and how easily a smile graced her face as the music picked up around her. It was over almost before she knew it, and she felt a small tremor from the rush of performing. Jenna had been careful not to focus on any single individual watching so that she could keep from getting too emotional, but now she left her guitar to the side and went to meet Splinter's open arms.

"Thank you Jenna. You were _wonderful_ - I could listen to you all night long."

She ducked her head slightly, wiping away a stray tear.

"Well it's the guys' turn now, but maybe you can twist my arm again later."

Donatello shook out his own jitters and grinned at Raphael.

"Take us away genius." He called over to him.

Donatello settled back on his stool after adjusting the microphone and started the intro on the keyboard, looping it over a couple of times before actually starting to sing.

"_I've got my memories  
Always inside of me  
But I can't go back  
Back to how it was  
I believe you now  
I've come too far  
No I can't go back  
Back to how it was_

_Created for a place I've never known..."_

As he hit the chorus his brothers came in a little stronger with him, and Raphael joined him on the vocals as well.

_"This is home  
Now I'm finally where I belong  
Where I Belong  
Yeah, this is home  
I've been searching for a place of my own  
Now I've found it  
Maybe this is home  
This is home."_

They backed off again as he led them into the second verse, and he briefly made eye contact with his Sensei before continuing.

_"Belief over misery  
I've seen the enemy  
And I won't go back  
Back to how it was  
And I got my heart set on what happens next  
I got my eyes wide, it's not over yet  
We are miracles and we're not alone."_

Donatello stole another glance at his brothers to remind them to hit it stronger moving into the bridge.

_"And now after all my searching  
After all my questions  
I'm gonna call it home  
I've got a brand new mindset  
I can finally see the sunset  
I'm gonna call it home  
_

_Yeah __this is home  
Now I'm finally where I belong  
Where I Belong  
Yeah, this is home  
I've been searching for a place of my own  
Now I've found it  
Maybe this is home  
This is home..."_

They let the instrumentation fall away for a moment, fading out so that it was just his voice with Raphael's.

_"I've come too far  
And I won't go back  
Yeah, this is home."_

They came back in for a few seconds more, and as Donatello hit the last chord, he saw Raph give the signal to cut the others off with a small dip of his guitar. He let out a very deep breath as if he'd been holding it in for eternity, and gazed around the room at the faces of everyone he loved in one place.

This is Home.


	51. On Our Own

(6 Months Later)

* * *

"Careful - _real_ careful now, hold it steady." Donatello instructed his brothers as they carried Michelangelo between them, keeping his right leg stationary. "Good job not moving the knife. How are you holding up Mike?"

"I'm just great - _now_ can you get it out?"

"You're lucky I _stopped_ you Mikey, you're not 'spose to touch it until you get to help, right Donnie?" Raphael spoke up.

"_Right_ Raph - can you bring him into the Lab so I can get a better look at how deep it is?"

Donatello went ahead of them to brush a few things off the table, and his brothers put him down under his watchful eye. He had stayed behind to work on debugging some camera issues that night when the others had left on patrol. They'd been gone for a little over an hour when he'd received the call that they were heading back immediately.

"Okay, I'm gonna go ahead and get this out Mikey. Can you guys help me for a minute maybe?" Donnie asked them.

"Sure Donnie, what can we do?" Leo spoke first.

"I need a good amount of gauze to help stop the bleeding. Just to be safe, grab a pint of negative out of the fridge, and get one of the IV units out of the closet."

Donatello very carefully removed the knife from his calf, setting it aside on a tray. He took just a few seconds to get a quick look at the wound before applying heavy pressure. It was deeper than he was expecting it to be, and already severely inflamed.

_That's weird. It __can't__ be infected that quickly. Maybe there's some kind of allergen involved here. I guess I should call Doc, tell him what's up._

He let Raphael take over pressure for him while he delved more seriously into Mike's vital information. Nothing was jumping out at him - his pulse was slightly elevated, but given the circumstances that didn't seem unusual. Still, he didn't like the look of that wound at all. He was probably going to need a very strong dose of the antibiotic.

Luke and Marcus had taken the girls away for a few days, a trip that April had actually begun planning over a year in advance. They'd wanted to cancel it altogether with it only being a month since losing Master Splinter, but the guys wouldn't hear of it. Donatello didn't_ want _to call Luke about this at all, but he knew the man would kick his shell for it later if he didn't at least check in.

Donatello got him on the second ring, explained the situation, and then tried to assure Luke that he didn't need to return to the city for it. He answered all the questions Doc came up with for several minutes, hoping to satisfy the man. He was just filing his closing argument and trying to get off the phone.

"Yes, it _is _a nasty puncture Luke, the wound itself is already inflamed, it needs to be irrigated. Now that the bleeding is under control, that was going to be my next task. Listen, I've got a handle on this, I don't want you rushing back here to do some stitches. I can close him up on my own."

Raphael had been cautiously eyeing Mike over the last fifteen minutes as he become increasingly uneasy and seemed a little flustered. He was about to assure him it would be alright for the 20th time, when his brother's eyes suddenly rolled back.

"Donnie?" Raph called out questioningly, and then shot upright to his feet a second later when Mike was seized with a violent tremor that didn't seem to want to let go.

"DONNIE!"

He glanced over from the desk, nearly dropping the phone in his haste to get his scanner and get over to them. "Doc I gotta go, I'll call you back!" He exclaimed, hanging up without even waiting for a response.

Mike was still shuddering, and Leo and Raph seemed to be absolutely frozen.

"What's goin' on?" Raphael asked anxiously.

"He's having a seizure - I need you guys to _hold_ him down! It's gonna be alright, we just have to let him ride it out!"

"_What_ are you saying?"

"I _can't_ stop it, but it won't last! Just hold him down so he doesn't fall or hurt himself!"

Raphael and Leonardo did as they were told to try and ease the thrashing, while Donatello swiftly took vital information again, and tried to mask his own confusion from the others.

"Donnie..." Raphael started again when another minute had passed, and it was continuing.

"Don't panic Raph, it's gonna be over soon. Just keep it together."

Raphael swallowed hard to hold back tears and received a reassuring glance from Leonardo. It was yet another minute before the seizure finally quit, and he went absolutely still.

"Mike?" Donnie called over him. "Do you hear me? Give me a sign, _something_."

"Donnie what's _wrong_ with him?" Raphael demanded when he didn't respond.

"I don't know yet." He answered simply, stopping to take a look at his pupils. "Can you guys stick with him over here? I need to digest his vitals again. When he comes around he might be disoriented, confused...he might not know what happened at all. Reassure him, try to keep him calm, and I'm gonna get on this."

They nodded wordlessly, just as he felt like his head was starting to spin. This didn't make _any_ sense at all. The vital picture he was looking at now was dramatically changed from the scan he'd taken only a few minutes ago. He made a rapid list to take back to Luke, while going through the circumstances in his own head that could cause such a rapid onset of symptoms.

Mike was stirring now, opening eyes that seemed to stare directly into space. He blinked several times as if having a difficult time, and his breath seemed to catch in his chest. When he didn't release it immediately, Leonardo bent over him.

"Mike? Are you okay?"

"W...Why can't I see anything?" He murmured.

"What?"

"I...I can't _see_. What happened?" His voice clearly trembled.

"Don!" Raphael called sharply again, and he hurried back over.

"Donnie...where are you?" Mike asked him.

"I'm right here Mikey - I'm gonna take another look at you for a second." He examined his pupils a second time, and tried to comfort him. "I don't want you to panic, this is temporary."

"Why would I panic? I'm only _blind_."

"You've got to try and relax for me Mike, I swear I'm going to get to the bottom of this. Can you take longer breathes?"

"No...it's _hard_..."

"Leo, grab me the Oxi." He told his older brother, and quickly set it up for Mike.

"Why are you so far away?" Mike asked softly.

"I'm right here, I'm not going anywhere. I _do_ need to call Doc back, but I'll still be in the room."

"Donnie don't _leave_ me."

"I'm not, I'm not leaving, and Leo and Raph are here too."

Raphael seemed to snap to attention at that, immediately grabbing his younger brother's hand. "Can you feel that Mikey?"

"Uh huh."

"Then you _know_ I'm here...it's gonna be okay."

* * *

Donatello sprinted across the room, adding the new symptom to the growing list, and quickly called Luke back.

"What the _heck_?" Luke demanded.

"Sorry Doc, Mike had a seizure, and now he's displaying all these symptoms he didn't _have_ half an hour ago!"

"_Such_ as?"

"He's having trouble breathing, his temperature is spiking, pulse is through the roof, pupils are enlarged...do you want me to go on? He just came back around a couple minutes ago, says that he can't see!"

"That could be related to the seizure--"

"I figured that, but why would he even _have_ one?"

"Donnie, this sounds like a reaction to some kind of toxin. You need to take a blood sample and start analyzing it right away. You'd better find out exactly _where_ and _what _your brothers were doing tonight. If it's environmental, they _all _could have been exposed!"

Donatello was listening to Luke, but his gaze had been resting on Mike's injured calf. "Or maybe not." He said mechanically. "Doc, hang on a second."

"Don't you_ dare _hang up again!"

"I'm _not_, I need to talk to the guys! Hold on." He put the phone down on the desk and called for their attention. "Who did you tangle with tonight, you said they belonged to a gang? Which one was it?"

"Uh...Dagos, they were Dagos." Leo answered, surprised by the reaction it elicited from Donatello. He had staggered backward slightly, as if physically ill himself.

"What is genius? What's with the Dagos?" Raphael asked him.

"I heard the tail end of a report on TV last week. It was just on in the background, I hadn't really been paying attention to it. I just remember something about people ending up in the hospital because of Dagos, related to poison somehow. Darn it, I didn't even_ think _of that until just now!"

"What are you saying, how were they poisoned?" Leo pursued.

"It has to be the _blade_." Donatello said emphatically, carefully retrieving it by the handle. "They must have treated it with something - and whatever that is must be causing _this_." He carried it back over to the desk, and asked one of his brothers to turn off the overhead lights so he could check something with his infrared lamp. "Turn it back on." He called flatly, and the picked up the waiting cellphone.

"Doc, I'm sorry, I know the _source_ now, but not the type! Those morons have started poisoning their blades!"

"Can you safely get a sample off it?"

"I think so."

"Start analysis, and treat whatever symptoms that you can! Marc and I will be there as fast as possible!"

* * *

Mike had been fading in and out of consciousness and lucid thought. He was talking less, and not responding to outward stimuli supplied by Leonardo and Raphael, as his breathing became increasingly labored.

"Donnie, is there something we should be doing to help you?" Leo called to him.

"You're already doing it." He replied. "Keep him as calm as possible, talk to him whether you think he understands it or not. If you notice anything else unusual, let me know right away. If he has another seizure--"

"You think he's gonna have _another_ one?" Raphael interrupted.

"It's a possibility Raph. Look, the docs are coming, but they're a good three _hours_ out! We're not gonna be able to just put a lid on this until then. I can't be in two places at once, meaning I can't get a fix on this poison _and_ keep a hand on him at the same time. I need your help, can you guys do this? Can you hold it together for me?"

"We can, and we will." Leonardo answered firmly.

Raphael nodded with yet another swallow.

When Mike trembled again a couple minutes later they both tensed, but it didn't last this time. His breathing however had slackened somewhat more, and he was forced to push harder to get it out. His obvious turmoil distressed Leonardo and Raphael greatly. As many times as one of their lives had been threatened, they'd never _been_ this closely involved before.

Leonardo lightly stroked his younger brother's forehead, trying to soothe him the only way he knew how.

"Sensei..." Mike gasped. "Where are you?"

Leo and Raph exchanged a stricken look, and Raphael openly winced.

"He's uh...he's not here Mikey. But _we_ are, me and Leo, we're not going anywhere." He told him gently again.

"I ca-can't...hardly breathe." He said with difficulty, slowly closing heavy eyes again.

* * *

Both brothers were shocked when Donatello suddenly bolted upright from the computer about ten mintues later, and dashed into the adjoining closet. He quickly returned, dragging the respirator with him.

"Donnie, what's happened? Do you know what it is?" Leo asked.

"Yes! Let me just get him hooked up and I'll explain." He answered. Mike didn't have a clue what was going on around him, and was fighting Donnie hard from inserting the tube.

"Guys _hold_ him down, I have to get this in!" He urged the others. They got him from both sides immediately, but it only solved the thrashing - he was still making it impossible for Donnie to get the tube properly in his throat.

"_Hon'in nou sono temae hia touhou. Shuushi kono, orera ketsubou tame fujo_." Leonardo quietly said over him.

His glassy stare didn't seem to focus, but his body relaxed almost immediately, and he allowed Donatello to get the respirator in.

Donatello exhaled sharply, wiping beads of sweat away from his eyes. "Thanks."

"What is it Donnie? Tell us." Raphael said as calmly as he could manage.

"Don't leave anything out." Leonardo added.

"The knife blade was laced with snake venom, that part wasn't hard to figure out. I spent the last few minutes trying to determine what_ type _we're dealing with. It's your standard cobra, so we're in a bad news/good news type of situation."

"How can there be good news in that?" Raphael asked. "Would some kind of antivenin help?"

"Not at this point it wouldn't, and we don't have access to that anyway. There's a very limited time frame from the instant that someone is envemoninated in which the antivenin can be be successfully administered, and we're way past that window."

"So the good news is _what_?" Raphael repeated.

"The _good_ news is that since we have a respirator in place, we should be able to wait him out until the toxins can be filtered out of his system. Cobra venom works by blocking the receptor sites on the diaphragm muscle, disrupting and eventually paralyzing it so that you stop breathing altogether. The paralysis _isn't_ permanent, so as long as we have a method of life support for him in the meantime, it should hold him until he can breathe on his own."

"So that's it? He's on that thing, and he'll be okay?" Leo asked.

"I can't guarantee that there won't be any more complications, but yes, I'm certain this is the right thing to do for him. It also means that it's safe for me to go ahead and start him on a couple of other IV's, without having to worry about drug interactions."

"What are you puttin' him on?" Raph asked.

"I'm going heavy on the tetrozine to fend off secondary infection, and I'll start hydralin to see if I can get his temperature to start coming down to a better place. Please just stay where you are with him for the moment. If he wakes up we've got to keep him under control so that the respirator stays in, I don't want to risk throwing a sedative in there right now."


	52. Rest

Michelangelo was quiet after the IV's were started - Donnie had figured the strong dose of tetrozine would put him out anyway, and it had less of a chance of causing a further drop in his blood pressure. Leonardo cast one glance at Donatello's bleary eyes and rose from his position beside Mike.

"I'm gonna get some coffee going, okay? You need anything else?" He asked Donnie.

He shook his head slowly. "No...just caffeine."

Leonardo disappeared from the room, and Raphael finally loosened the death grip he still had on Michelangelo's hand. It wasn't pleasant to see him hooked up to those tubes, but it was a heck of a lot better than watching him _suffocate_.

Donatello called Luke back to inform him of their progress, and what had been done for Mike in the last few minutes.

"...His temperature is still too high. Yeah, I know that can be a seizure trigger too, I'm gonna go ahead and increase his hydralin. I _don't_ want to see him have another one of those. Once in an evening is enough for me, thank you very much. Actually, once in a lifetime is _too_ many. No, I haven't touched the stitches yet, that sort of got shoved to the back burner when everything went to pieces. It's completely irrigated, and I got out as much of the debris as I could.

I agree, I was lucky I didn't handle that blade the wrong way when I took it out. I coulda ended up just like 'im. We're gonna have to find a way to properly dispose of the thing. They stuck with me Doc. I hated for them to have to see some of it, but they took it all in stride. Alright, well _tell _Marc not to break too many laws, we're sort of under control here. I'll see you in about an hour."

Donatello hung up his phone, and walked over to join Raphael.

"Hey. How's it goin'?" He asked him.

The simple question produced a reaction that he completely hadn't expected. His older brother's shoulders suddenly heaved with the emotion he'd been holding back for hours, and now the floodgates had been released.

"Raph, c'mere." Donnie said softly, and his brother embraced him so hard it felt like he was going to crack a rib for a moment. "_Easy_ killer." He gasped.

Raphael immediately loosened his grip somewhat, but didn't let go. It was a few seconds more before he looked at Donatello with a little embarassment. "I'm sorry."

"What are you _sorry _for Raph?"

"I've taken you for granted. How the heck do you_ do _this Donnie? I musta nearly fallen apart about fifteen times tonight."

"But you _didn't_."

"Cause you wouldn't let me! Seriously, how?"

"It's _not _easy Raph, that's the truth. I've come pretty darn close to losing it through the years myself. We've been a little spoiled having the docs around so much. As much as we _need_ their help and expertise, I've gotta say that part of the reason I'm so grateful for them is because it meant we could kick your shells out, and you wouldn't have to _see_ this side of it. I'm sorry you had to be thrown right into the deep end tonight, _and _that I had to be so focused on figuring stuff out. I know it really left you guys kinda on your own."

"It ain't your fault Don, _we_ sure weren't gonna fix it. Did I hear you say the docs are an hour away?"

"Uh huh, Marc's driving, _definitely_ a better idea than having Luke behind the wheel right now."

"Yeah, why's that?"

"Because it means they'll probably _make_ it here in one piece. You know how Luke gets when he needs to be somewhere fast."

"I'm sorry we had to ruin this trip for them."

"Nobody planned this Raph. Stuff happens."

* * *

Leonardo returned with coffee a couple of minutes later, and resumed his own vigil with Michelangelo. Donatello gazed at him for a long moment, as he blew steam off the top of his cup. This last year had seen changes in _everyone_, but probably none more than their fearless leader. He seemed to have aged considerably over the course of the last seven months alone. There was a firm confidence in his gaze that none of that evening's events had truly succeeded in shaking, even when he didn't really know what he was doing.

Leonardo seemed to sense Donnie's look, and glanced up at him with a little bit of a tired smile.

"So. Is it _always_ like this?" He asked.

"God knows we can sure keep life interesting." Donnie replied.

"I think I could settle for things being a little boring." Leo told him impishly.

* * *

Luke and Marcus arrived less than an hour later, so worked up _themselves_ that they were shocked by how calm the brothers were.

"I think he's _through_ the worst of it." Donatello told them evenly. "We may still have infection to kill off, but at least we're being proactive with it. That should help anyway."

He proceeded to show them the blade, and all of his findings from searching for the venom. Luke and Marc took their own opportunity to thoroughly examine Michelangelo, encouraged by the improvement in his vitals already.

"Boy your stitches are _clean_ Donnie - I'd think you went to med school or something." Luke grinned.

"Nah - I've just worked alongside the two best doctors on the planet for the last few years. And I had a couple helpful assistants tonight I might add." He finished.

Marcus shook his head. "I don't know what you even need _us_ for."

"Ya'll can have it all Marc, seriously." Raphael spoke up. "This sure ain't _my_ forte."

"Maybe not," Luke said slowly. "But you kept your heads on, and you didn't let your brother down. I'm proud of you guys."

"I don't think we really _did_ much Doc." Leo told him. "It was sort of like babysitting."

"I don't know what babysittin' _you're_ talking about Leo, but that sure wasn't like any _I've _ever done." Raphael muttered. "I have a brand new respect for you brilliant people - and I'm including _you_ in that Donnie."

* * *

It was a little hard to get Leonardo and Raphael to leave after that, but with a considerable amount of coaxing, they agreed to getting some rest. As they were walking upstairs, Raphael lightly punched his brother's shoulder.

"Does it every bother you, still having to share a room with me? You really don't have to anymore I guess."

"Raph, I've been sleeping above you for so long, I don't know if I can relax without the sound of your snoring." Leo replied with a laugh.

"Now I'm bein' serious Fearless. You deserve some privacy of your own if you want it."

"I'm happy the way things are. Just because some things change, it doesn't mean we have to uproot _everything_."

"I 'spose not." Raphael replied, reaching down to scoop Tiger off of the floor. "But what about _this _girl, do you mind having to share your bed with a mighty hunter?"

"So long as I don't become her scratching post at 4am, she doesn't bother me either." He replied with a grin, followed by a wide yawn. "I don't know how I can be this tired with all that caffeine in me."

"You're immune." Raphael told him as he settled onto the bottom bunk, allowing Tiger to curl up next to him.

"Guess I'll have to break out the espresso next time." Leonardo murmured above him, and lapsed into silence.

"Leo?"

"Hm?"

"I'm glad you're here. I can't imagine gettin' through all this without you."

He reached a fist over the side of the railing, and Raphael bumped it with his own.

"Same here Raph."


	53. Empty

Donnie spent the night in the Lab - after what they'd gone through, the docs weren't going to _force_ him to leave. He stirred when he heard someone at the door around 8am, glancing up to see Jenna.

"_Hey_. You're not supposed to be here." He grinned tiredly.

"My Mom and I caught an earlier flight Donnie. Didn't know anything about _this_ junk until we walked in the door. I'm sorry I woke you."

He tried unsuccessfully to stifle a yawn. "Oh it's fine, I'm hardly even tired."

"I can see that." She replied, walking over to kiss him briefly. "Don't you dare get up. Go back to sleep."

It didn't take very much prodding.

* * *

He woke up a second time around three hours later, and agreed to get something to eat at Luke's encouragement.

"I don't need anybody to bring it _here_ Doc, I'm not the patient." Donatello insisted.

"Are you _sure_ you're feeling okay? You still look peeked to me."

"You're being paranoid Luke. I just haven't been sleeping well, that's all."

"Your blood sugar is extremely low."

"How do you know_ that_? Did you scan me while I was sleepin'?"

Luke shrugged a little innocently.

"Quit worrying about me Doc. I was just busy working on camera stuff before this all went down last night, sort of forgot to eat anything."

"Did you really _forget _Donnie?"

It was Donatello's turn to shrug. Luke had him there - his appetite had been pretty much non-existent for weeks.

"It's hard to force something that isn't there." He replied.

"Donnie you can't _do_ this, not at your activity level!"

"I didn't go _out_ last night did I?"

"Don't make me go over this with you again, I _will _bring your brothers into it if I have to! Do you want_ them _watching you like a hawk?"

"No." He answered softly.

"Then no more skipping, you got it? You can _bet_ I'll be checking levels through your implant."

"_That's_ how you've been keeping tabs on me!"

"Did you think I forgot how to use the software Donnie? I helped you design it!"

"That's not what we created it for." He grumbled.

"You're not leaving me any choice. Now I want to know _honestly_, how do you feel?"

"I'm just _tired_ Doc, and a bit light-headed."

"Well you're sure not going anywhere." Luke said matter-a-factly. "Get settled down, and I'll call Vic to get some food in here."

* * *

Leo walked in about half an hour later to see how things were going, and to talk to Donatello.

"Hey bro - do you wanna work on some stuff with me in about an hour?" He invited him.

Donatello cast a quick glance at Luke before he replied, and Leonardo didn't miss the doctor's slight head shake.

"Why not Doc? What's going on in here?" Leo asked.

"Nothin' Leo, it's just..." Donatello slowly trailed off.

"He can't be expending the extra energy right now, he's got something a little out of wack." Luke finished.

"What's the matter?" Leonardo asked, fixing a probing gaze on his younger brother. One glance at the guilty look on his face and the food in front of him that he'd hardly touched told Leonardo everything he needed to know. "You're _doing_ it again, aren't you? Donatello, you _promised_! How on earth are you supposed to take care of us, if you won't take care of yourself?"

"I'm sorry _shuhan_." Donatello said quietly.

"You're_ gonna _be sorry, because we're not gonna leave you to your own devices anymore!" Leonardo said angrily, and then glanced at Doc as he was edging out of the room. "Thanks for looking out Doc. I'll take it from here."

"Just doing my job." He said evenly, and ducked outside.

"Darn it Donnie, do you _want _us to supervise you like some little kid? I know Mike set you up before we left last night - what'd you do, throw it away?" Leonardo continued.

Donatello seemed very interested in the floor all the sudden. "I _know_ it's stupid, okay? Can we not do this?"

"It's tough Don, I know it is." Leonardo said more quietly. "But you've never been a quitter, and I'm not about to let you start_ now_. Don't you get how bad we need you? How many times we would have been utterly _screwed_ without you?" He paused for a long moment, waiting for Donnie to look at him. "But it's bigger than that. It's not just about what you can _do_, or what you contribute. Being a unit means that when _one_ of us suffers, _all_ of us do. I'm _not_ sitting here telling you just to get over it, it doesn't work that way."

"How _does_ it work Leo? Cause I'll be darned if I could figure it out."

"Stop_ trying_. I think you make it harder on yourself with all the psychoanalysis. Yes, it's a big word - aren't you impressed?"

He actually smiled at him slightly, and then shook his head. "I don't know what to do."

"Same thing you tell Mikey and Raph. You've gotta slow down Donnie. I have this image of your brain operating like some busy intersection, with about a hundred cars trying to get through it at once. Of _course_ you're going to get overwhelmed."

"You're saying that I'm thinking too much."

"It's not the first time you've heard it." Leonardo replied carefully.

"But it's probably still true." Donatello answered, leaning back heavily in his chair. "I thought I was prepared for this Leo, with all that time, knowing it was coming. But I _wasn't_ ready - I didn't expect it to feel like this."

"Like what?"

"How is it _possible_ to feel this empty when all of us are here all the time?"

"Because we're_ not _all here Donnie."

"I don't wanna talk about this anymore." He said a little more strongly, physically turning away from Leonardo.

"And I don't want to push you. But I'm not going to sit by and watch you self-destruct either."

"Just _leave _me alone." Donatello said sharply, shooting upright with a swift motion that proved to be a little disastrous. Before he could remotely catch himself he hit the table hard, and crashed to the floor.

The next thing he was actually aware of was something warm against his forehead, along with a very familiar herbal scent. Donatello dutifully opened his eyes to see both Doc and Leonardo, wincing just a little. It only took him a couple of seconds to realize what had happened, and he would have flushed with embarrassment if he was able to.

_Perfect. Now my head hurts too_, he thought ruefully.

"You can't always burn the candle at both ends Donnie." Luke told him quietly.

He didn't say anything back, he merely flinched away from Leonardo's hand on his forehead. The herbs were supposed to have a calming effect, but they reminded him too much of his Sensei.

"_C'mon_ Donnie. You're the one who's encouraged us so many times over the last few months. Why are you fighting me?"

"Because I'm tired and I'm_ frustrated_." He answered a little raggedly. "We had _nine_ months Leo - nine _months_! I could have helped him, I could have done _something_! It shouldn't have ended like this."

Leonardo took a sharp breath. "You have to stop this Donnie - you can't blame _yourself_. It was his choice."

"I'm sorry..." He wavered, and Leonardo carefully guided his chin to force him to look him in the eyes.

"_It's not your fault_." He said emphatically.

* * *

Leonardo stayed with him while he calmed down, and then coaxed him into actually eating more than a mouthful.

"Do you wanna try getting some more rest Donnie?" Leo asked him a little later.

"Yeah, but I'm good here. I wanna be close by when Mike comes around, and I know _Doc_ feels safer having me under his watch anyway." He finished with a small smile.

Leo exchanged a knowing glance with Luke, and then cast his brother another smile. "He's an excellent resource, that man is."

"Wait a minute. Did _you _put him up to watching my implant?"

"I had to do something - I couldn't make any sense of the gibberish _myself_."

"Smooth Leo...very smooth."

"_I_ thought so."

* * *

It was early evening before Michelangelo started to wake up, and Donatello was still waiting beside him when he did.

"Mikey?"

His brother exhaled slightly and slowly opened his eyes, smiling when things sharpened and became clear.

"I _see_ you." He said weakly.

Donatello laughed. "That's very good to hear."

"What _was_ that?"

Donnie helped him sit up, and made sure he got some water down.

"Now you know what it feels like to get bitten by a snake." He told him.

"What are you _talking_ about?"

"Those freakin' Dagos, they laced that knife blade with venom."

"_Whoa_. Was it a rough night?"

"To put it mildly. You sound pretty raw, how's your throat feeling?"

"Sore. Did you have to save my shell or what?"

"Just a _little_. How much can you remember of it?"

"Not a lot, just the dark mostly. That scared the heck out of me. Why did that happen Donnie?"

"We're not positive Mike - it could have been from the venom, but you had a seizure too. I'm just glad your sight came _back_."

"I seem to recall you _telling_ me it was temporary."

"I didn't want you to panic." Donatello said honestly, as he took a moment to start perusing him. "How are you feeling otherwise?"

"I'm cold." He answered, and Donnie felt him with the back of his hand.

"You still have a fever. I'm going to go get Luke, and we'll adjust your fluids again. Think you can stay awake for me now?"

"Were Leo and Raph here?"

"The whole time. We were the three amigos." He said a little lightly. "Now hold tight for a second - I'll be right back."


	54. Halloween

Later on that night all three brothers settled into the Lab for a little while to spend some time with Michelangelo together.

"How bad was it?" He asked of no one in particular. "Cause I _feel_ like I had a beat down."

"More like a _hold _down Mike - I couldn't risk sedating you." Donatello told him.

"I'm gonna be okay, right? My leg's not gonna like shrivel up and fall off or anything? I saw this thing on Animal Planet once where--"

"I _told _you it's bad to watch so much TV Mikey. You're going to be fine. We're treating the sight of infection, you're just not going to have very much energy until we can wean you off the tetrozine."

"How long are you gonna chain me down bro?"

"As long as it _takes _Mike." Raph said a little crossly. "I didn't watch you go through all that, just to see you relapse. I'll strap you down _myself_ before that happens."

"I'm confused - am I sick, or am I being held prisoner?"

"Call it what you want Mikey, but you're _not _getting off without a permission slip." Leo told him with a smile.

"Do you remember when we had some of those made up special for Sensei?" Raphael asked with a laugh.

"He didn't think it was all that funny." Mike replied.

"He didn't like our experimental effort into forgery." Leonardo corrected.

"It was a _joke. _It wasn't like Doc couldn't tell 'im right away that they weren't real. I don't see what the big deal..." Raphael trailed off slowly, throwing a rather uneasy gaze in Donnie's direction.

"It's okay." Donatello said quickly. "You can talk about him. I swear, no more hypoglycemic tirades."

"No more passing out?" Leonardo asked with a slight smile.

Donatello ducked his head, lightly rubbing the fresh bruise. "No." He answered.

"No more _blaming_ yourself for stuff that ain't your fault?" Raphael added.

"I think a _part _of me is always gonna be stuck looking back, wondering if I _could_ have saved him." Donatello said honestly. "But I'm going to try to start looking forward again too." He seemed to be contemplating something, a small smile growing. "Sensei had his _own _sense of humor, more advanced than ours maybe. Do you remember how you guys used to torture me around Halloween when we were kids?"

"Those were the days." Mike said with a grin.

"If it wasn't for Sensei, I'd probably _still_ be on the verge of a breakdown every October. I find it pretty funny that all the scaring stopped after he stuck his neck out for me."

"You wouldn't think it was funny if you hadn't been _in_ on it." Raphael muttered.

* * *

(Twelve Years Ago)

"Donnie, c'mon, you have to lighten up!" A twelve year old Raphael was calling after his brother as he stomped up the stairs.

A cross-armed Splinter was standing behind the other three brothers, looking none too pleased.

"Did I not tell you to _stop_ tormenting your brother?" He said sharply.

"We're sorry Sensei, we'd never_ hurt _him." Leonardo spoke up quickly.

"It's just so _easy_." Mike laughed under his breath, and received a scorching look from his Master that shut him up immediately.

"We will talk about this when I return." Splinter told them darkly as he turned for the door.

"Do you need_ help _up there Sensei?" Leonardo called after him.

"I do not think any of you _deserve_ to go to the surface right now. You may wait here, and think about what you have done."

****

Shortly after he was gone, Raphael flipped on the TV and started scanning through the channels.

"I don't think we're supposed to be watching TV." Leonardo spoke up.

"He didn't say we _couldn't _Leo." Raph replied without looking at him. "Awesome! Halloween just started, I've always wanted to see that."

"Seriously Raph, we could get into more trouble."

"He ain't even _here_ bro. We can think about what we did on commercial breaks." Raphael said sarcastically.

Mike had been in the kitchen, and reappeared with his secret candy stash. He nodded with approval at Raphael's choice, and jumped over the back of the couch into a sitting position.

"Well if you're gonna have it on anyway..." Leo relented.

Raphael tossed a couch pillow his direction. "Just _watch_ the movie."

For the next hour and a half they were completely engrossed in it, mostly only stopping to talk or laugh during the commercials. Watching one particularly suspenseful sequence had them all a little wound up, and Raphael fingering one his sai.

"Somebody give that chick a _real_ weapon." He murmured.

Leonardo was _about _to tell him to shut up when everything suddenly died - the TV, the lights, and everything else were cast into complete darkness.

"Whoa, what the heck?" Raphael demanded. "It was almost over."

"What happened?" Mike trembled.

"Easy Mikey." Leonardo told him calmly. "Where did you put that flashlight?"

"It was on the table - I left it there after we scared Donnie."

"OW! That was my _foot_ you moron!" Raphael complained.

"Raph, why don't you get off your shell and help us find it? Or_ better _yet, go see if you can get Donnie down here?" Leo ordered him.

"I'm 'spose to find him_ how_?"

"Just try _looking _Raph, feel your way to the stairs."

With a grunt of frustration he made his way blindly to the staircase, and ascended up carefully holding onto the banister.

"Donnie?" He called loudly as he ran a hand along the wall to find his doorway. "Donnie, are you in there?"

He found the handle and tried the door, but it was clearly locked.

"Aw c'mon genius, open up! We need you!"

A few more knocks told him he wasn't going to get anywhere with him, and a beam of light coming from downstairs told him his brothers had found the flashlight. Raphael made his way back downstairs with a little irritation, shaking his head.

"No go. He's still sulking, won't come out."

"Lemme talk to him." Mike offered. "I'm sure he--"

He was cut off by a sudden loud persistent knocking on the front door.

"Sensei?" Raphael suggested, and immediately moved towards it. When it increased in volume, Leonardo caught him firmly by the arm.

"That doesn't _sound _like Sensei."

"Who the heck else would it be?" Raphael argued.

"Would you just hold on a second?" Leo hissed to him. "Sensei's _got_ the combination, why would he attack the door like that?"

"Maybe somethin's wrong," Mike squeaked. "Maybe we should--"

"Shh, listen for a minute." Leonardo hushed him.

The banging had transformed into a sound to nails screeching down a chalkboard.

"C'mon Leo, we can take whoever's out there!" Raph insisted.

"Are we voting here? Cause I vote _no_." Mike said tightly.

Before Leonardo could speak up again, all three of them distinctly saw the door handle turn in the beam of the flashlight.

"Sensei?" Leo called as it opened wider, valiantly trying to keep the light steady.

They didn't _see_ anyone - but billows of smoke suddenly filtered through the open door.

"Where's that coming from?" Raph demanded, all three of them suddenly backpedaling.

"Sensei!" Leonardo called louder as all three of them huddled closer together.

In the midst of the smoke they saw a shadow take form, suddenly breathing heavily.

"Who is it?" Leo called, the only one of three who could actually find his voice.

The figure didn't respond, only continued breathing heavily, as they inched backwards ever so slightly. They were all startled when a flame seemed to ignite directly out of both of the stranger's hands.

"_The back_." Leonardo hardly breathed to the others. "_Out the back_."

"I'm not goin' without Donnie." Mike insisted a little stronger all the sudden.

"Mike, don't--"

"I'm not going!" He cried and made a mad dash for the staircase.

A ball of fire seemed to erupt out of the smoke, and the other two couldn't take it anymore. They dashed to escape out the trap door through the kitchen, Leonardo shaking so hard he almost lost the flashlight. They scrambled so fast that when they hit the slippery surface outside, neither were able to keep their balance. They both tumbled into the water in the storm drain, surfacing with a gasp to find their intruder standing directly over them. Their cries echoed through the tunnels for what seemed like miles.

Suddenly they were flooded with light, unable to see for a few moments as it dazzled their eyes. As it started to clear they were further startled to see not one, but _two_ figures standing over them, their clear outlines now revealing their true form.

"_Sensei_?"

"Oh, and don't forget _me_." A ten year old Donatello could hardly contain himself anymore. "That was priceless! _Gotcha_!"

"_Not_ funny," Raphael growled as he righted himself up on the cement. "Do you have any idea how close I came to hurting you?"

"I could see that we were in real danger." Donnie cracked up loudly, and then offered Leonardo his hand to pull him out.

"I 'spose we deserved that." Leo said mildly. "But _you _Sensei?"

"Perhaps a taste of your _own _medicine will teach you some compassion for your younger brother." Splinter said reproachfully, and then couldn't help but smile. "And it _was_ rather amusing to watch."

* * *

"Yeah, it was funny alright." Mike snickered at the memory. "Funny that _ya'll _ended up in the drink, and I didn't!"

"That's what you get for being a concerned brother Mikey." Donatello said affectionately.

"We woulda come back for ya." Raphael protested. "It was all just happening so fast and..."

"And we were scared out of our minds." Leo finished. "Lesson learned."


	55. Business as Usual

Editor's Note: It's been a real joy for me to watch story traffic increasing, not just on Sacrifice, but on my other two TMNT fics as well. It's nice to see that all of the _shameless_ baiting doesn't go to waste. So in the beginning of Sacrifice, I had intended to write about forty chapters. Obviously that didn't happen, and I decided to increase it to at least 50. Well here I am at 55, and I just don't think I'm quite finished yet. :) I'm less than 10,000 away from breaking 100,000 words. Why stop now, right?

Oh, and for the record, I do _not_ condone prank calling, particularly of EMS. But then again, I'm not Michelangelo.

* * *

(Five Weeks Later)

"Mik-ey! Are you gonna wrap this up or _what_? I'd like to get home before we get caught in another monsoon!" Raphael called down the alley to his youngest brother, who was clearly messing around.

Michelangelo sent one of the two remaining men flying with a thrust to his chest. He was about to dispatch the last one when he saw Donatello nearby, and got a quick idea.

"Hey Donnie - go long!" He told him, flinging the ogre sized man his direction.

Donatello caught the man by muscular biceps, and flipped him over his back into the open dumpster.

"He shoots, he scores!" Mike announced triumphantly as he came over to smack his brother's palm.

"That should count as an _assist_ on your part." Donnie replied as they sprinted to join Leonardo and Raphael.

"Are you guys ready to go?" Leonardo asked them. "I think I've been soaked _enough_ for one night."

"I guess we could call it a _day_." Donnie told him. "I bet we're flooded downstairs too - I think we should probably cut across Central Park to skip the low ground."

* * *

Once safely under the cover of darkness in the park, Leonardo turned to Donatello again.

"So are _you_ calling, or am I?"

"Actually, I believe it's Mikes' turn."

"You _can't_ be serious." Leonardo groaned.

"He hasn't gotten to do it in like three months!" Donatello pointed out.

"There's a darn good _reason_ for that genius." Raphael spoke up.

"Well, it's _still _his turn. Go ahead and call 911 Mikey."

"Yes!" He celebrated.

"Don't hold 'em up Mikey, they're supposed to be for _emergencies_." Leo reminded him.

"I'll _just_ be a minute." He assured Leonardo, dialed the number, and waited for someone to answer with baited breath.

"911 Dispatch, this is Angela, what is your emergency?"

"Angie hey!" He chortled. "I can't believe I finally found you. Did you change your number or something? I've been trying to reach you for months!"

"I-I'm sorry, is this an emergency or--"

"Angela, c'mon! Nate? Nate Parker, senior high?"

"What?"

"From school, you remember!"

"Oh, P.S. 118!"

"That's the one! How have you been babe?"

"I'm good Nate. I would love to catch up with you, but I'm kinda _working _right now. Is there a problem or--"

"No, no, it's just the coolest thing running into you this way! Remember we were supposed to meet for that pizza, and you never showed? I had to eat it all myself, but I didn't mind so--"

Raphael cut him off suddenly, fighting to wrestle the phone out of his hand. "Gimme the phone! Give it right now!" He got it out of his hand and quickly held the receiver up. "Hello? You still there? Sorry about that, my brother's an _idiot_. There was a break-in at the jewelry store off Jefferson, looks like an inside job 'cause they knew how to shut off the alarm. There's about a dozen guys waiting to be picked up, you might wanna send some cops over. Well you can believe me or not sweetheart, but you're gonna feel pretty _stupid_ if you don't send anybody. Peace out." Raphael clapped the phone shut and gave Mike a dirty look. "You're screwing with our credibility."

"_What_ credibility? We've been hanging up on 911 for years! I was just trying to make her night a little more interesting. I swear, you're getting to be no fun in your old age Raph."

"_What_ did you say?"

"You're getting boring in your old age. What's wrong, is your hearing going bad t--"

Before he could finish the statement Raphael caught him firmly by the back of the legs, and sent him sprawling forward into the mud on the path.

Turning him swiftly onto his shell, he neatly pinned him to the ground.

"_What _am I Mike? I'm _boring_?" He challenged with a grin as his brother struggled underneath him.

"No, that's not what I--"

"Who's a fun guy? I wanna hear you say it."

Donnie gave Leonardo a pointed look, and he held up a finger to wait a second.

"Say it!"

"You are!"

"Sorry, my hearing _must _be going! Who's the fun one?"

"_You_ are!"

"_Alright_ Raph, get offa him." Leonardo said with a laugh.

Mike darted to his feet a little breathlessly. "Feel free to speak up a little _faster_ next time Fearless."

"Not when you _ask_ for it." He replied as Raphael offered his cloak to Mike.

As he wiped as much mud off his face as possible, Raphael noticed that he was _bleeding_, and rolled his eyes heavenward at himself.

"Aw Mikey, I'm _sorry_. I didn't mean to hurt ya."

"What are you talking about?"

"You're bleeding."

He raised a hand to his mouth experimentally and pulled it away again. "Oh yeah, I guess so. No biggie Raph - you wanna hug and make up?"

He rapidly backed away from Michelangelo. "Uh, no...I don't think that's necessary."

Leonardo smiled ever so slightly, intentionally tripping him as he backpedaled to escape Mike's grasp. He landed on his shell in about an inch of mud, groaning openly.

"Leo..."

"Sorry Raph, must be getting clumsy in _my_ old age."

* * *

They were underground a few minutes later, picking their way back home.

"I think I'm gonna harden into a statue any minute." Mike complained.

"We could always rinse off here Mike." Raphael cracked, pointing to the drain water which was a muddy torrent itself.

"That looks appetizing, but I think I'll pass." He replied with a smile.

Donatello had been directly behind them, but stopped short for a second when his phone rang.

"Hey Doc, what's up? You _are_? Oh, we'll be there soon. No, we were on the surface. Well, we figured we'd get a few drinks, hit a couple of clubs, and head home after that. What do you_ think _we were doing?" Donatello laughed. "We're on foot, but we'll be there soon. Just make yourselves comfortable."

* * *

Luke and Katherine were waiting inside the Den when they arrived.

"What's the deal huh?" Luke asked. "Are you guys gluttons for punishment, or did you just _miss_ the forecast?"

Raphael shrugged. "Crime don't take a hiatus for the _weather_ Doc."

Katherine was trying hard not to laugh at the mere sight of Raphael and Mike. "Um, what exactly did you guys _do_?"

Luke shook his head at her. "It's better _not_ to know Kat."

"Right, so uh...we'll be back!" Mike called as he made a bee-line up the stairs after Raphael.

"Was that _really_ necessary?" Luke complained to the other two as they shrugged out of drenched cloaks.

"Raph's right Doc - crime doesn't stop because of the rain." Leonardo told him. "We actually had a rather busy night."

"I get how important this is, I do. I just wouldn't necessarily recommend you guys to go out on patrol in a tropical storm!"

"The _remnants_ of a tropical storm." Donatello corrected. "Aren't you being a little dramatic?"

"_I'm _not the one who's cold-blooded here."

"Our temps are_ fine _Doc - and if they weren't, I've got our trusty fix." Donnie told the man reassuringly, holding up his epi-pen.

"That thing is meant for emergencies!"

"Doc, over the course of two hours we broke up two muggings, a car jacking, a _small_ gang brawl, and a jewelry store robbery. Do any of _those_ qualify as emergencies?" Leonardo asked with a hint of a smile.

"I don't think you're gonna win this argument Luke." Kat laughed.

* * *

A much cleaner Mike and Raphael came back downstairs a few minutes later. Donatello had retreated to the kitchen to fix everybody something to drink, so they simply took a seat with Leo, Luke and Katherine in the meantime.

"So what's shakin' with you two, huh?" Mike asked them.

"Not much." Kat told him. "We just had a late dinner, thought we'd drop in on you. I told Luke we should have called first--"

"Called?" Raph repeated. "For what, _permission_? Ya'll are welcome to crash anytime you want Kat, I would think you know that by now."

"I'm still getting used to that kind of friendships." She replied, digging her elbow into Luke's side. He'd been staring at Mike for the last minute or so without stopping.

"Mike, how did you bust your mouth?" He asked him.

"It's no big deal Doc."

"That's not what I asked you."

"I fell." He replied lightly, casting a wink in Raphael's direction.

"You fell?"

"We all have our clumsy moments Doc."

"Oh, he fell alright, _after _I tripped him." Raphael admitted.

"Which I'm sure was a complete accident." Luke remarked.

"_Hurting_ him was anyway."

"Sheesh. The way you guys rough-house, I'm surprised you don't get hurt more often." Luke muttered.


	56. Confrontation

Jenna showed up at the door a couple of minutes later, absolutely sopping.

"Is _anybody_ staying inside tonight?" Luke asked as Leonardo ran to get her a towel.

"_You're_ one to talk Luke - how the heck do you think _you_ got here?" She shot back with a smile.

"I didn't think you'd be down tonight." Donnie said with some surprise, as he carried a tray into the room. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine Don, got finished earlier than I thought I would." She replied.

"Well get changed and come _back _- we want to hear all about it." Luke told her.

* * *

Jenna returned downstairs a few minutes later, dark hair still damp and hanging loose around her shoulders for a change.

"_Okay_! Not so easy to navigate your tunnels down here when they're practically flooded." She announced.

"You shoulda _called _me. I would have come and got you." Donatello reprimanded her.

"I'm here aren't I? Do you want to hear about tonight or not?"

"We do, we do." Mike spoke up quickly.

"There were probably six people in the showcase before I got near it. I don't really even have a clue how well any of them sounded."

"You didn't listen?" Kat asked.

"I had my earphones on - I figured it would make me more nervous to hear them first."

"How did it _go_?" Raphael pushed impatiently.

"_Good_, I think. I mean, they obviously didn't say anything tonight. All I can do is wait for the call to find out." She replied. "There was still a lot of partying going on when I left, I just can't get into that scene. That's part of the reason I don't wanna be a singer _myself_."

She gave Donnie a lingering glance which spoke much louder than words, and he quickly got the hint.

"There's something I've been waiting to show you." He said immediately. "You wanna come with me?"

"Yeah, sure." She answered brightly, rising to her feet to follow him.

"Okay, _steal_ your girlfriend all to yourself, see if we care." Mike cracked as they were leaving.

"We can have fun all by _ourselves_." Raphael added.

Donatello shot them a _look _as he made a rapid slashing motion across his throat, and they meandered their way back into the Lounge. Jenna immediately turned around to kiss him with a beautiful smile.

"You're _so_ perceptive." She giggled.

"I had to learn sooner or later. Are you sure you're okay Jen?"

She nodded, taking his arm to draw him over to the couch in the corner.

"I am, I'm fine. I just don't enjoy the bar scene very much, you know that. But I do think that tonight was productive, I'm really hoping for a call."

"God knows you're good enough. You_ could _be a singer Jen."

"We've been over this Donnie, I'm not into performing like that. I never have been. I just want to _write_, but you still have to put yourself out there to be heard to do that. It's a cruel cycle."

She leaned against him for a long moment, a soft sigh escaping her.

"Jenna, what's _wrong_?"

"Nothin' Donnie, I'm just trying to figure out what it is I really wanna do. I've been writing music for years, and the thought of getting my own material out there is so tantalizing. But then I think back to volunteering with the music program, and how happy I was working with those kids in the system. I could relate to them. It felt incredible to see them open up to me so easily. Maybe I should have gone into social work." She finished with an impish smile.

"Jen, why can't you do both? Teach _and_ write?"

"I suppose I can Donnie, I'm guess I'm not _entirely_ certain if I want to insert myself inside the system that way. I've never been one for following rules, I don't know how kindly they might even take to me."

"First you establish yourself, so that they see they can't live without you..._then_ you break the rules." Donnie offered, and she laughed.

"It was great, that summer that I volunteered back home at the Rec Center. Even having to work with Mrs. Stolle didn't ruin it."

"I seem to recall you saying that you got things worked out with that woman."

"The summer didn't start _out _that way."

* * *

(Three Years Ago)

Jenna had finished up teaching a class only fifteen minutes ago, and was now taking some time to unwind in the gym at the Rec. She was finding herself having to vent more frustration than normal, pounding relentlessly on a helpless punching bag. Presently she felt someone's eyes on her, and dropped her fists long enough to brush dark hair out of her eyes.

"Miss Richards, could I have a word please?" Came a voice that had terrified her in her dreams. But she wasn't scared of her anymore.

"I'd rather not." She replied simply, without even turning around.

"What?"

"I said I'd rather _not _- did I stutter?" Jenna replied, and resumed her assault.

"I'm confused Miss Richards. I thought you had matured past all this, that things were going rather well."

Jenna took a deep breath to calm her center, and turned around directly to face Mrs. Stolle.

"I'm happy to volunteer here, I find it very rewarding. That being the case, I'll say all the right things and show proper respect in front of students and teachers. But right now, just between the two of us, I _don't_ have to pretend that we're okay." Jenna finished sharply.

"Jenna, when did you start hating me so much?" The woman asked unexpectedly.

"You don't remember? That's _convenient_, I wish I couldn't." She replied sullenly.

"Jenna _please_. You've been by _far_ the most complex and baffling case of my entire career. You were also my first case - do you remember?"

Jenna didn't say anything, arms crossed protectively.

"You were only four years old, and I couldn't believe what you'd already lived through. I was told you hadn't spoken more than five words since being in the hospital. But you talked to _me_."

"You made me feel safe." Jenna said flatly.

"I helped set you up in that first home, things seemed to be going so well there. They had you almost five years Jenna, they were starting the process for adoption. I still don't understand why you ruined it."

"There are _a lot _of things you don't understand." Jenna said bitterly. "Did it ever occur to you that I might have a _reason_ for running away from that place?" She paused for a long moment, staring down the woman as she'd longed to do many times before. "They were _molesting_ me, from the time I was five, until I ran! When I found out they were trying to adopt me, I couldn't bear the thought of being stuck there _forever_. So I _ran_, and I made sure they wouldn't try to get me back!"

Mrs. Stolle stared at her blankly for a long moment. "Wh..._Why_ didn't you tell me?" She stammered.

"I TRIED to tell you!" Jenna exploded. "When they caught me, I told the police and social services that I wouldn't talk to anyone but you! I remembered you from that hospital Mrs. Stolle, I remembered that I trusted you. Then you arrived and immediately started berating me, _blaming_ me for ruining my _perfect_ opportunity! You didn't even give me a chance, and then I didn't WANT to tell you!

Oh, they weren't the only ones either. The other home when I was twelve, that kept me for a little over a year? It was abusive too. And the last one, right before Victoria and Michael gave me a chance? _Their_ son tried to rape me, and passed it off to his parents as _me _coming on to him! Should I go on, do you want _all_ the sordid details? On _top_ of that, you tried to talk Victoria out of even giving me a shot! And _no_, she didn't tell me, I heard it out of your own mouth.

Do you _really_ wonder why I still have anger issues with you? The question isn't what happened to _me _Mrs. Stolle, but what happened to _you_? You went from being this tender compassionate woman that made me so calm as a little girl, to a frightening monster I couldn't begin to open up to five years later."

* * *

Jenna hugged her knees to her chest. "I was actually relieved to finally get it all out there."

"Did you ever really forgive her?"

She nodded slowly. "She was a woman badly burned herself. Life had taken a major toll on her by the time I was growing up. We buried the hatchet that day, and it sure made it easier to teach that summer."

He wrapped his arms around her as she brushed tears away.

"The pain never goes completely away Donnie. When people _use_ you like that over and over again...it leaves scars you can't get rid of."


	57. Nightmare

It was late afternoon a couple of days later when Marcus remembered that he needed to call Donnie back from earlier that morning. It was a day off for him, and with the girls working and Luke otherwise engaged, he'd had a quiet day on his own. He'd actually slept later than he meant to, and still felt somewhat drowsy when he actually woke up. Of course that _might_ have had something to do with the fact that he'd been up coughing half the night.

Marcus rubbed his eyes tiredly as he padded out to the kitchen to get some water. After grabbing a bottle from the fridge he yawned again, wincing slightly at the tightness in his chest.

_That's probably not good. I better make some adjustment, but I think I'll call Donnie back while it's still on my mind._

He hit Donnie's speed-dial, greeting him a little wearily when he picked up.

"Yeah, hey, sorry I missed you this morning."

"You're cool Marc, I just wanted to touch base with you about tomorrow."

"Right, of course." Marcus started, breaking into a bad coughing fit before he could add anything else.

"_That _doesn't sound good. Are you okay?" Donnie called after him.

"Yeah I'm...oh..._hold_ on. Let me get...my inhaler." He finished breathlessly.

"I'm not hanging up." Donatello told him.

Marcus' bag was hanging off the kitchen chair, so he didn't have to reach far. Swiftly he yanked out one of the inhalers, shaking it firmly. He tried one deep breath with it, and when it didn't do any good, tried the second recommended dose. To his distress, it only succeeded in making him more dizzy than he already was. He stumbled against the wall for support, sinking slowly to the kitchen floor.

_Long slow breaths, maybe it will pass. Just take long...slow...breaths._

Donatello had waited over ten minutes for him to return before hanging up the phone, and trying to call him back. He grew increasingly agitated when his five attempts didn't receive an answer. He hung up again, and dialed Luke this time.

* * *

The doctor was in his car, on his way back to his own apartment.

"Hey Donnie - what's going on?"

"Doc, where are you? Are you anywhere near Marc's building?"

"Uh...I _could _be, in like ten minutes. Why, what's wrong?"

"Maybe nothing, maybe _something_. I had him on the phone, and he started coughing up a storm. He said he needed his inhaler, and I told him I was staying on the phone. He never came back, and _now_ I can't raise him at all!"

Luke swiftly made an illegal U-turn without further prodding. "I'm on my way over Don - I'll call you when I've got something!"

* * *

Luke paused less than twenty seconds between knocking on Marcus' door and waiting for an answer.

"Marcus, you in there? Open up!"

Hardly a minute had gone by, before he started searching his key-ring to let himself into the apartment.

"Alright Marc, I'm coming in!" He announced before opening the door.

Luke looked around swiftly, making his way through the living room.

"Marc? Are you--"

Luke stopped suddenly when he reached the kitchen, and saw his friend barely propped up against the wall.

"No, no, no! Marc!"

His lips were actually blue, and he didn't respond to Luke when he first touched him.

"Marcus! Open your eyes _darn it_!"

He did with serious difficulty, a clouded gaze that barely seemed to register. His struggle to breathe was incredibly apparent, pulse absolutely racing. Luke noticed the inhaler on the floor and immediately seized it.

"Marc, did you use this?"

When he didn't respond, Luke shook him a little harder by the shoulder.

"Did you _use _this?"

He received a very slight head nod.

"How many times?"

He barely raised two fingers.

"It didn't work?"

Another slight head-shake confirmed that, and then slumped slightly to the side.

"MARC! Stay _with _me now, stay with me!" He urged, lightly patting his face to to no avail.

He checked his pulse again, and then yanked his medical scanner out of his own bag to test a few things. Luke already knew exactly what it looked like, and called for an ambulance as he got back to his feet. As he rattled off the address for the dispatch, he grabbed Marc's bag and dumped the contents out on the table.

Luke distinctly remembered Marcus had told him he was starting a new medication - but he'd failed to mention what it _was_. He located two bottles that he immediately recognized, Marc had used them for years. A third one didn't ring a bell with him, and he figured it had to be the new one. To be safe, he scooped up all three to bring with him to the hospital. After hanging up with 911 he hurried back to Marcus' side, and called Donnie back.

"_Thank _you for calling me Donnie. No, it's not good, his oxygen levels are severely depleted, and his rescue inhaler didn't help. This doesn't seem like a normal attack, I think we're probably looking at status asthmaticus. I called an ambulance, they'll be better equipped to help him right away. I probably shouldn't stay on the phone."

"You're fine Doc, just help him! Call me when you can! Do you want me to get ahold of April?"

"You'd better."

* * *

When he hung up, Donatello found himself to be the center of the whole room's attention.

"It's not good guys - Doc had to call an ambulance for him."

"Donnie, I could go to the hospital." Jenna volunteered. "I can help keep you informed."

"I...if you don't mind, it's probably a good idea."

"I'll track Luke down when I get there."

* * *

It was a very _long_ three hours for Luke. He was used to being inside the action, not sitting around waiting. He'd had a frightening couple of minutes before the EMT's arrived, when Marcus had stopped breathing altogether, and he'd had to fight to get him back. He had failed once more in the ambulance, putting Luke even more on edge.

But he'd been under proper care for hours now, receiving both oxygen and the needed steroid treatment to get his lungs opened back up. Luke was leaning back in a chair with his eyes closed, as he had been for several minutes. Jenna had found him rather quickly after they arrived, and April had come only a few minutes after that.

"I feel like I just did this." Were the first words out of her mouth.

Now no one had said anything for awhile. Marcus had been stable for some time, they were just waiting for more news, and the green light to be able to see him.

Another half hour passed without incident, before a nurse finally came to see them.

"Dr. Barrows? He's up again, and asking for you. The doctor says it's alright for you to see him. You know the drill, no excitement."

"Thank you." He said quickly, and gave the ladies a reassuring look. "I'll be back.

* * *

When he walked into the room he tried to give his friend a disarming relaxed smile. He was still breathing with some help by a respirator through his nasal passages, pale, but obviously in his right mind.

"Hey Marc."

"Hey." He rasped softly, managing a small smile for him. "How'd you find me so fast?"

"Donnie. He said he had you on the phone, and when you disappeared he got worried."

"God _bless_ him. That was my own personal nightmare...coming to life." He hesitated for a long beat, working up the energy to keep going. "Do you know how many times I've dreamed about an inhaler not working?"

"You were dealing with a little more than a normal asthma attack."

"_Apparently_. Do they have a clue what triggered the asthmaticus?"

"It was probably an allergy, relating to that new medication. They still need to do more testing to know for sure."

"It kinda sucks when the stuff they give you to help...actually makes it worse."

"Couldn't agree more. Um...you should know that your father is on his way."

"Ah_ shoot_, who called_ him_?"

"I think it's pretty much standard hospital procedure when you stop breathing Marc."

"_Great _- he's the _last_ person I wanna see."

"We could try to give him the run around. Want me to hijack you to another hospital?" Luke cracked.

"Nah, he'd still track me down, he's like a bloodhound. But could you like ask them to drug me, so I'd be too out of it to talk to him tonight?"

Luke shook his head slightly.

"You're a piece of work Marc."

"Thanks for coming after me."

"What are brothers for?"

"Brothers from another mother...is that how it goes?"

"I don't know, I'm not cool enough to keep up with the lingo. Do you want to see your girlfriend?"

He shook his head. "Do I get any more last requests before my father shows up?"


	58. Leopards & Rules

Fortunately for Marcus, visiting hours were over before his 63 year old father could reach New York City from Maine. But first thing in the morning, the man was at his door, looking at him expectantly.

"Hi Dad." Marc said evenly without any true emotion.

" 'Hi Dad'? Is that all you have to say to me?" The man demanded.

"What do you _want_ from me? Am I supposed to break into _song_ because you showed up?"

The man slowly sat down. "You didn't ask them to call me, did you?"

"Seeing as how I was _unconscious_ at the time, no, I actually didn't."

"How many _others_ Marcus? How many times have you let this slide, and not bothered telling me?"

"I never realized you _cared_ so much." He answered sarcastically. "And there_ weren't _other times. My asthma is normally very well controlled."

"Is that what being under _control_ looks like? I was just happy to be pulling up to a hospital, instead of a funeral home."

"_There's_ an ironic thought. You didn't go within a mile of _Jesse's_ funeral."

"Son, that was thirty-five years ago! How long are you going to hold it over my head?"

Marcus sighed heavily. "You know what? If I'd seen the remotest change in you over the last thirty years, maybe I _could_ let it go."

"I am what I am Marcus, a leopard can't change his--"

"Yes, a leopard can't change his spots, you can't teach an old dog new tricks, I've heard 'em all Dad. Why did you even come here? Was it just to gloat, to try and point that I still can't take care of myself?"

"I never thought you couldn't take care of yourself Marcus. Seems that's_ all _you've done for years, you certainly never needed me."

"I _did_ need you." Marc said sharply. "But eventually, one has to learn to do without."

"What do you want me to do, apologize to Jesse? I can't change the past."

"I don't need you to do that -- I would settle for you just trying to change _yourself_."

"Do you want me to leave Marcus? I'll go."

"I _never_ asked you to leave Dad. You do that all on your own."

* * *

April came in a few minutes later, knocking lightly on the partially open door. Marcus was facing the wall with his back to her, and didn't respond right away.

"Hi." She ventured quietly. "I saw your dad leave."

"That's what he's good at." Marc said flatly.

"I take it that didn't go very well."

"There's only so much you can say when a leopard is happy the way he is. He wants me to get one of those medic alert bracelets, said he'd _pay_ for it." Marcus snorted.

"What, like 'I've fallen and I can't get up'?"

"That's the one."

"Are you gonna be alright?" April asked.

Marcus shrugged. "It isn't like I expected anything different. He's been this way my entire life."

April hesitated for a moment as she worked up a little more nerve. "Do you blame him for Jesse? I know you've never come out and said so, I was just...wondering, I guess."

"I suppose I did years ago, but I eventually grew out of it. It wasn't his fault she was sick, it just would have been nice if he'd been sober enough to _help_."

"You've never really told me about her. I thought you were_ always _an only child until Luke let it slip. Do you mind talking about this?"

"It was a long time ago April, talking about _her_ isn't what bothers me." Marc replied, pausing to contemplate something for a second. "It's an interesting feeling, growing up with a twin, being almost regarded as a single unit instead of two different people. Sometimes I wondered if anyone actually knew our names, because everywhere we went it was 'twins this' and 'twins that'."

"She had asthma too." April said carefully.

"Yeah, only she had a full blown attack before either of us had ever been diagnosed. We were um...we were actually on a camping trip with my dad when it hit. One of my mother's attempts to get him to actually spend some time with us. He'd been hitting the bottle hard all day. When Jesse started wheezing, having trouble breathing, I tried everything to wake him up, nothing worked. I didn't know what to do, so I ran to find help myself. We were out in the middle of _nowhere,_ I just remember running alongside some road, hoping a car would come. By the time I flagged someone down, and we'd gotten back to our campsite, she'd already stopped breathing."

"Marc, I'm sorry."

"I grew up feeling like I was only half a person anymore. I can't say for certain_ what _my dad was thinking. I know he must have blamed himself at least partially. He was distant _before_ she died, and after...we might as well have been on different planets."

"It explains why your mom was so protective of you."

"I hated the look she used to get in her eyes when I was a kid. It scared me. Every cough, every little episode, she thought it was gonna be the big one. That got more than a little tiring after awhile. She wouldn't let me _do_ anything." He said with a hint of an actual smile. "I had no choice but to hit the books."

"And to become a doctor?" April offered.

"I had a better relationship with my own physician than I did my father. You could say that it was a natural progression."

* * *

Marcus had to stay put for a couple of days, so that the doctors could make sure he was stable enough for release. Marc let Luke talk him into just resting on the surface the first night he got out, but he was underground the very next day. Donatello was the first to meet him at the door with a swift embrace, and then tapped him lightly on the shoulder.

"You _scared_ me - don't do that!"

"I'm sorry Donnie, I'm just glad you _heard_ it. Thanks for sending Luke."

"No prob Marc."

"I'm sorry I screwed up Leo's thing too."

"You didn't screw it up, we just postponed it. It's not like we were gonna celebrate without you."

"So when _are_ we doing it?"

"I have to double-check with Kat, but we were looking at Friday."

"I don't suppose you guys have performed your ritual yet?"

"Uh...no. That sort of got pushed back too."

"Good, 'cause I still want in on it."

"As long as you don't mind the instant retaliation Marc."

"I get it, I know that's part of it. Do you have everything you need?"

"Nearly. Still contemplating timing. It's not easy catching each other off guard, and the wake-up calls get a little old. It'd be nice to use a little more imagination."

* * *

They ended up planning the assault for a couple of days later. Donatello made an excuse to stay behind when the others went on patrol, and Marc and Jenna arrived downstairs a little while after they left. They got busy helping Donnie set things up in the kitchen, getting things opened up and consolidated. They pre-made bakery stuff never had enough cream for their liking, so they usually ended up adding more of their own.

"I don't get why you guys have us buy so much." Jenna remarked. "You never use it all, and then you end up lettin' them get you back right away."

"That's _intentional_ babe. _Just_ for birthdays, we make retaliation very easy. It's kinda like a present."

"A present _hm_?" Jenna repeated as she tested the weight of a pie experimentally in her hand. He was just trying to decipher the odd look in her light blue eyes, when she suddenly shoved it in his face.

"_Jen_!" He gasped in surprise, then reaching for the paper towels.

"I just thought we should test one." She said feistily.

"Okay, well you've had your fun now, right?" He laughed.

"Wait a minute...nothing? You're not even trying to get me back?"

"Not on your life."

"That's not fair. What about your fancy 'rules of engagement'?"

"Those stipulations don't include you."

"_Why_? Because I'm a girl, or because I'm your _girlfriend_?"

"They just don't Jen. We don't have a huge amount of time, can we get back to this?"

"Sure we can Donnie."

But the second he turned away from her, she pushed another into the back of his head. He whirled back around to face her, trying in vain to stop it from running down his neck.

"You're _not_ gonna bait me Jen, so you may as well--"

She didn't give him a chance to finish, decking him directly in the face _again_.

Marcus rolled his eyes impatiently and finally approached the two of them. Without a spoken word, he put a pie in Jenna's face from behind her.

"_There_, are you happy? Quit wasting 'em." He said sternly.

The shrill giggle that came out of her mouth was like no sound Donnie had ever heard her make, and it made him laugh harder.

"Donnie, there's such a thing as being _too _nice." Marcus told him as he struggled to rub chocolate out of his eyes.

"She's too gorgeous for me to mess up." Donatello said simply.

"You're not gonna let me have_ any _fun, are you?" Jenna laughed.

"Hurry and get cleaned up you two - we don't _have_ forever." Marcus told them.

* * *

About two hours later, Leonardo had a glorious welcome home at their hands. Raphael and Michelangelo had been completely in on it, and managed to get him in the door first without making him suspicious. The biggest melee they'd ever participated in ensued, the brothers absolutely loving having their human friends involved.

They'd had to take turns in pairs using the two showers upstairs (with the exception of Jenna of course). By the time Raphael and Mike were coming back downstairs, Leo and Donnie were already in the living area.

"You guys _suck_, you know that right?" Leo said, shooting them what was supposed to be a dark look. Then he glanced down at Donatello, who was concentrating on a cell-phone he'd had to take apart on the coffee table. "And_ you_. It'll be a cold day you know _where_ before I leave you home alone again."

"Don't dish it out if you can't take it Fearless." Raphael laughed.

"How _dare _you remind me I did the same thing less than a month ago!" Leo said with a grin, and then turned back to Donnie. "Your girl was pretty hilarious tonight."

"She was spot on - I couldn't have been prouder." Mike added.

"I just got _one _question. How did the geek end up with such a cool girl?" Raphael joked.

Donatello's eyes finally flicked up from his project to look at Raphael. "I've got a question too. Do you want the _geek_ to fix your cell-phone, or would you prefer that I leave it in pieces?"


	59. Support

Mid afternoon the next day, Leo ran into Raphael as he was finishing up a snack.

"Hey, I'm gonna get some air, do you wanna come with?"

"It ain't dark yet Fearless."

"I know, we can stay underground."

Raphael threw away his trash, and dusted off his hands.

"Yeah, why not?"

They walked out a couple of minutes later, and ended up getting into one of the Sliders. They drove out to the van entrance, and hunkered down in the doorway to watch the rain sheeting down outside.

"Is it ever gonna stop? Maybe we should have been building an arc down here." Raph said sarcastically.

"Give Donnie an afternoon, I'm sure he'll have it done." Leo laughed.

Raphael grinned back, but then cast his brother a sideways glance. "Somethin' on your mind today Fearless?"

He nodded slowly, a serious expression coming over his face.

"I miss him Raph. I miss him so much I can hardly stand it."

"I know Leo." Raphael said quietly. "We _all _do."

"Sometimes, it still doesn't feel like it's real. Like I'm gonna wake up one morning, come downstairs, and he'll be waiting there."

"That'd be nice bro - but it ain't gonna happen." Raphael said not unkindly.

"Do you ever get that sensation in the pit of your stomach, and it feels like you can't breathe anymore? I keep waking up that way. Last night I...I cried myself back to sleep."

"I heard you." He said softly.

"You didn't say anything."

"I didn't think you wanted me to. Figured you'd talk when you were ready."

"I don't like bringing it up in front of the others. This has been hard enough on Don and Mikey, I just want them to be confident that I'm not losing it altogether."

"_Grieving_ ain't a sign of weakness bro - if I've learned anything through this, I know that now. I don't think you should hold back from tellin' them you're hurting too. In _my _mind, it makes it easier for them to face it too."

"Every time I start to relax and really enjoy myself for a few minutes, it rears up in the back of my mind again. How can I be _happy_ if he's not here?"

"You've gotta try to stop feeling so guilty for that Fearless. You think he'd want that?"

"No, but I don't know _how_ to stop. It's the first _everything _without him Raph. Thinking about having a _happy_ birthday makes it that much harder. I don't want to disappoint anyone else either. They've put effort into getting this together, Marc's been to Hell and back again...I don't want them to get bummed out because_ I'm _bummed out."

"Don't forget that it won't last like this forever Leo...and if you need to break down in the meantime, just do it, okay? There's no sense in pretending, not when we're _all_ going through it." Raphael told him, casting an arm across his shell.

* * *

Jenna arrived later on, while Leonardo and Raphael were working out, and took her opportunity to sneak the cake into the kitchen. The other brothers followed her in, and Mike went to start some new coffee.

"Your Mom's coming, right?" Donnie asked her.

"She'll be down in awhile, she has to finish up with Belgium first."

"Does she enjoy schmoozing with those people?"

"She seems happy, I can tell you _I_ sure wouldn't be. Here Donnie, do you want a peek before I put it away?"

As he started to bend over the counter, she jerked it up threateningly.

"Want a closer look Donnie?"

"Jen, I _swear_...that's not even funny."

"I don't know bro, it probably would be." Mike laughed.

"Well _you_ come on over here then." Donnie challenged him, and then captured Jenna in a firm embrace from behind. "You need to behave yourself for at least a little while."

"You're askin' an awful lot Donnie. _Ya'll_ are the ones who started me on this."

* * *

Marcus came in with April about an hour later, ducking his head cautiously into the living area, as if expecting some stealth attack.

"What are you _scared_ of Marc?" Leo spoke up threateningly. "Me?"

"Aw, don't worry about him Marc, we got that all squared away the other night." Raph laughed out loud.

"Why do you guys always have to do that when I'm not _here_?" April complained. "I feel like I never get to see anything."

"You want in next time Ape? Just say the word." Mike called.

Leonardo groaned loudly. "Can we stop talking about it already? I'm just glad it's done for another year, and I can stop jumping around every corner."

"_Is_ it over Mikey?" Donatello asked his brother, shooting Leonardo a playful look.

"You _never _know." Mike said maddeningly. "It's a good exercise in keeping us on our toes, gotta admit that."

"I swear, I'm sleeping with one eye open." Leo grumbled.

* * *

Luke and Kat came a few minutes later, with Victoria almost directly on their heels.

"Food's here!" Luke held up one of the bags that he and Kat were toting.

"Bring it into the kitch, I'll get it set up." Mike said, jumping up from the couch to meet them.

"We can help you." Kat volunteered, and they followed him into the next room.

"Hi Mama." Jenna got up from the couch too. "Did you have a good day?"

"It was _interesting_ anyway." Victoria told her.

"I _don't_ believe you. Did you at least bring your violin with you this time?"

Victoria smiled and pointed to the case sitting by the door.

"You play the violin too?" Raphael asked.

"My father was a director _and_ a composer." Victoria explained. "I grew up around a lot of music - and I still enjoy using it from time to time."

"Does that mean you're gonna play something for us?" Leo spoke up.

"I've requested to hear all of_ you _enough times - and Jenna's been bothering me to get it back out. It actually probably needs some serious tuning."

"Bring it over to the Lounge, and we can remedy that little situation." Donatello offered.

* * *

They ate take-out at a leisurely pace, talking and laughing well into the night. Leonardo got up at one point to take a glass into the kitchen. When he returned, he stood back for a moment, gazing wistfully across the room at everyone. When Victoria met his gaze, he immediately straightened up and put on a happy face. She got up as if to take her cup to the kitchen too.

"First times are usually the hardest...so I've heard." She said quietly to him, and he followed her into the kitchen, sitting down at the table for a moment.

"I'm happy Vic, I am, it just feels like such a _crucial_ part of us is missing. But I'll be fine." He hesitated for a moment, and then looked up. "Did you ever have trouble sleeping? I know it must feel even more different, when you're used to having someone there beside you."

"Nights are usually the hardest time...it _does_ still feel empty, unusual not to have him there."

"I'm sorry, do you mind talking about this?"

She shook her head. "Sometimes I get this little song in my head, it's from an old musical called 'White Christmas'."

"You sing _yourself_ to sleep?"

"It's been known to work from time to time. Either that, or I tell myself a story that I know really well. I usually fall asleep before I'm half-way through."

"If I start singing in the middle of the night with my voice, Raph might pound me. I bet the story thing might work though."

* * *

They had turned a movie on in the living area. Donatello and Jenna were seated on the rug, leaning together against an oversized pillow on the floor. She whispered something to him, and he couldn't keep from laughing.

"Do you need to get a room?" Raphael asked them, and then glanced around at the other humans. "Heck, Mike and I could leave all of you alone if you want." He cracked.

"Aw, lay of 'em Raph, I think it's cute." Mike grinned.

Raphael reached to pull Tiger into his lap off the back of the couch. "Cute huh? Well me and _my_ girl can cuddle here too."


	60. Night Terror

* I am in _no_ way making fun of people who suffer from very real fears in this chapter - it is only an attempt to lighten up a serious mood.

* * *

(Six Weeks Later)

_It was dark - not the pitch black he usually associated with the safety of the underground passages, but a different kind of darkness altogether. It seemed to seethe and writhe around him, as if attempting to physically reach out and engulf him. He was surrounded by thick smoke as well, which not only further compounded the darkness, but him feel like he was suffocating. His heart was absolutely beating out of his chest, fear bristling through every muscle in his body._

_He reached out for the wall, trying to locate anything solid in the midst of the cloud. As he staggered blindly through the darkness, he tripped forward over something directly in his path, landing on top of what could only have been a human body. He bolted upright with a tremor, his breath coming even faster now._

_There has to be a light around here somewhere. __Has__ to be a way out._

_The building shook, and he froze in his step. He heard a creak above him, followed by a tell-tale __snap__. Diving forward, he hardly avoided being taken out by a falling light fixture. He crouched on the ground for a few moments, trying to get his bearings back somehow. He was breathing too deeply now, and immediately started choking on the smoke, a burning sensation inflaming his lungs._

_Got to get up. Got to get out!_

_He forced his legs underneath him once more, and then started running, reaching a hand out against the wall to try and help guide his progress. When the building started shaking again, he didn't stop this time. He simply kept moving as fast as he could, until sprawling hard over something __else__ in his path. As he raised his head he saw what looked like a __glimmer __of light, but it felt more like a beacon, he was so happy to see it._

_He dashed towards it, running smack into what felt like an exit door._

_Yes, yes, this is it!_

_He pushed his way through it, running directly into the inferno that was the stair-well. A gasp caught in his throat, and he spun around on heel to get back out the door he'd just plunged through. It wouldn't budge. He slammed against it twice in bewilderment, then whirled around to see the advancing flames again._

_Gotta get higher._

_He ran up the next flight of stairs, knowing full well that the unbearable heat wouldn't be very far behind him. He attacked the first exit door he could locate, ramming into it with all of his might. The thing might as well have been made of titanium metal, he couldn't even make a dent in it. He beat against it in frustration for a few seconds, before turning around as he felt the heat on his back._

_How is it moving so dang __fast__?_

_He pressed on up another stair case, muscles burning with adrenaline. The building trembled under his feet, the very floor starting to fissure out from underneath him. He grabbed for something to hold on to, narrowly avoiding tumbling down the abyss that had just erupted open where the floor used to be. He gripped the stair railing for all he was worth, but he could __feel __that the piece wasn't going to withstand the pressure for long._

_One glance down revealed only depths of flames, something that vaguely resembled what he imagined the gates to Hell would look like. He tried to pull himself back onto some kind of solid footing, before the railing gave out completely. Any second it felt like it might--_

_

* * *

_

"Mike? Mikey. Wake up."

Someone was shaking him, but he was so far under that he literally had to _force_ his eyes to open. Even then, he didn't realize where he was at first.

"NO!"

"Mikey...Mikey, it's okay." Donatello was leaning over his top bunk, one hand firmly on his shoulder. "It's okay, you were just dreaming."

"A dream...yeah." Mike faltered, actually breathless. He dropped his forehead into his hands for a moment, wiping away sweat that had engulfed him.

Donatello gazed at him for a second, and then tugged at his arm. "C'mon, get up."

Michelangelo sniffed and dropped down from the top bunk, then following Donnie downstairs. The nightmares that had come and gone for months had increased with a sudden frequency in the last two weeks.

"You don't have to sit up with me Donnie." Mike protested. "I'll be fine."

"And ruin a perfectly good tradition? I don't think so." Donatello tossed a blanket at him, as he lowered onto the couch, and ducked into the kitchen himself to heat up some water.

He fondly fingered the old tin box that had always stored some of his Master's favorite tea leaves, smiling faintly. Donatello collected both mugs from the microwave, and let them steep for a few seconds before returning to the living area.

Michelangelo had been staring at the wall, snapping back to reality when he re-entered the room.

"What do you wanna watch?" Donnie asked him.

"Don, why is it getting _worse_?" Mike completely ignored his question.

Donatello sighed as he settled into the chair to the right of him. "I don't know Mike. It's been almost a year since the UN went up - maybe that has something to do with it."

"Do you think I need therapy?"

"I can see it now. Whatever therapist you tracked down would probably _need_ therapy to get over meeting a mutant turtle." He said, to try and lighten him up.

"It ain't funny Donnie. Humans get drugs for this kind of junk. What am _I_ supposed to do?"

"Luke's told me that he had all kinds of flashbacks after 9/11. Maybe we should talk to him."

"_You_ aren't having these dreams."

"I _have_ had some Mike. We were all in there together...I know how frightening it was."

"I'm the only one who's _still_ about to have a panic attack every other night."

"Do you actually think you're the only one who's scared by anything Mike?"

"Name one thing that terrifies you Donnie."

"Sure Mikey, I have Atomosophobia."

"What on earth is _that_?"

"The fear of atmoic explosions."

"Would you be serious?"

"Just be glad I don't have Anthrophobia."

"Do I dare ask?"

"That's the fear of flowers, which seems almost as bad as Aulophobia."

"The fear of..."

"Flutes. Then there's probably the worst one of all, which is Pantophobia."

"Fine, I'll bite."

"The fear of everything."

Michelangelo beat his head into the couch cushions, not able to hold back laughter anymore.

"Okay, but honestly...of _course_ I get scared Mikey. I hold my breath every single time we get into a fight. My _worst_ fear is losing one of you guys...but on a more personal note, I still worry about my knee sometimes too."

"It hasn't been bothering you, has it?"

"No Mike, it doesn't _have_ to. I still get afraid of it getting injured again, the possibility is _always _there. Leo and Raph, they have fears too, it's impossible to live without them. The thing you have to realize is, you don't have to face 'em alone."

Mike cracked another smile at him. "I think there's a Three Stooges marathon still running."

"_Just _what you need, more ammunition." Donnie laughed, and tossed the remote at him.


	61. Anniversary

Donatello hit the mat hard, a little bit breathless, and _completely_ surprised.

"Where did_ that _come from? You've been holding out on me!" He said mock accusingly to his younger brother.

"I can't tell you about every new move before I _use_ it Donnie - that sort of ruins the shock factor." Mike grinned, and yanked him upright.

"So can you tell me about it _now_?"

"Sure Donnie, go back to standing the way you were a minute ago, and I'll slow it down. They call it a scissor take-down, obviously it ain't pure ninjitsu. It's just something fun to throw in there, makes for a good show. You know, the kinda thing you'd wanna pull if Jen was watching you spar with Leo or Raph."

Donatello laughed. "So, are you showing me, or..."

"Yup, shoulders back, and get ready for me. When I come in, go for my shoulder exactly like you did before, and I'll walk you through my motions. Great, now notice how I hook my right arm _under_ yours? Then I'm popping up with my right leg, gonna get it right behind your knee. In real time, I would be posting off the mat with my left arm, to help keep me from losing my balance completely. Then my left leg comes up too, so it's directly behind your _other_ knee, and you already know what happens next."

"Cool. Run it_ full _speed again."

Mike used the take down three times in succession, before Donatello took a crack at it himself. He had run through the maneuver four times to bring Mike down the way he'd shown him, and then stayed flopped on the mat next to him on the last pass.

"Where did you _get _this thing?" He asked him.

"Youtube." He said in all seriousness.

"It would be kinda fun to break out some of the mixed martial arts on the other guys." Donnie laughed. "We could really have 'em thrown for a minute there."

* * *

Their workout complete, they left the practice room, and headed for the living area. Donatello could hear the guys watching TV, what distinctly sounded like the _news_. As they approached, Leo suddenly caught sight of them a little wide-eyed, and snatched the remote off the table to turn the channel.

"You don't have to do that." Mike assured him. "It ain't like I don't know what day it is."

As he and Donnie sat down to join them, Mike cast another glance at the TV screen. "Besides, Jenna and Vicky are gonna be on there sometime today."

"How'd Jenna got hog-tied into _that_?" Raphael wondered aloud.

"Probably 'cause Vic's doing it?" Leo suggested.

"That's part of it." Donnie said. "But they're also gonna have her speak for Carrie, so she decided to bite the bullet."

"It sounded like _ya'll _were having fun back there." Raphael commented about their sparring suddenly.

"Mike was just teaching me something new." Donnie responded.

"Yeah, what's that?" Raphael asked him.

Donatello shrugged innocently. "Maybe you'll find out next time we spar."

Raphael caught Leonardo's eye from the chair, shaking his head. "I don't like it when he gets that look."

"You never _were _one for surprises Raph." Leo smiled.

"Right, so you're sparring with him for the rest of the _year _Leo." Raph shot back.

"Aren't you forgetting that _Mike's_ the one who showed it to me in the first place?" Donatello laughed out loud, and then grew suddenly serious again as he was drawn back in by the television.

"Do you guys believe we were actually_ in _there?" Donnie said to no one in particular. "I can hardly comprehend that we got out at _all_."

"I hope you had a _little_ faith that we'd come out alive." Leo said.

"Um...not a whole lot, lemme put it that way. You know they say knowledge is power? Sometimes, knowing everything that can go wrong is more of a curse than anything else."

"What'd you drag _us_ in there with you for then?" Raphael spoke up.

"I think you are _seriously_ remembering a different conversation than we actually had." Donatello replied. "I didn't want any of you within a mile of the UN."

"Yeah, _that_ would have worked out perfectly Donnie." Mike said. "How the heck would you have saved Jenna _and_ her Mom? That's not even taking _Kat _into account."

"I couldn't have." He answered simply. "But I also couldn't stand the thought of intentionally putting you guys at risk either, especially with Sensei being so sick."

"Fortunately for all parties involved, we _were _there." Leonardo said decisively. "And whether or not Sensei was sick, it doesn't make a difference. We're a team, not a solo act. And that's not gonna change."

* * *

Jenna showed up about seven hours later, looking more than a little worn out. Donatello instantly got up to meet her, gathering her in a firm embrace.

"Can we--" She started, and he didn't make her finish.

"Yeah." Donatello said immediately, and they headed out of the living area into the Lounge.

"I hope you don't think I'm rude for not asking how your day was." Donnie said quietly.

"No, I'll more likely call that bein' smart." She replied, indicating him towards the keyboard.

He followed her over, and they both sat down behind it. When she didn't make a move for the keys, he started to trace them slowly himself. It was an exercise they had repeated several times over the years, when Jenna was feeling particularly overwhelmed. When she was ready to talk she would; and until then, they would just play.

Donatello found himself falling back onto one of his old favorite songs, and after he'd been toying with it for about ten minutes, she finally smiled.

"I've always liked the way you slow down Better Days...it just fits the mood of it." She told him.

"It's a_ brilliant _song...I sure can't take any credit for it. Do you wanna play something?"

"No, not really. I just wanna listen." She replied. As she settled back further on her stool, her phone suddenly rang, and Donatello stopped playing so she could answer it. Jenna merely glanced at the screen, and shoved it back in her pocket.

"Somebody you don't wanna talk to?"

"I have talked to them already, it's those stupid record people again."

"That's the first you've said anything. Did they call you about the showcase?"

"Oh they called alright, I just didn't get the response I wanted. It's not a big deal."

"I'm sorry Jen - but I'm sure it's not the end of the line for you, right?" He asked, and then cocked his head as if her words had suddenly sunk in. "But why are they still calling you then?"

"Idiots are still trying to _woo_ me, even though I made it clear I'm not interested."

"Interested in what Jen? Did they like your stuff, or not?"

"They took the recordings from that night to some other board to 'digest' or something dumb like that. They _did _like my material Donnie."

"Then what's the problem?"

"They want me on a plane to LA."

"They loved it that much? Jen, _why_ aren't you taking that call?"

"Because they don't just want the songs, they want_ me _Donnie, do you understand that?"

"They want you to _sing,_ you mean?"

"To make a go at it anyway. I already told them _no_, my music's available, but I'm not."

"They _want _you, they want to _launch_ you, and you said no?"

"Those weren't the exact words out of their mouths Donnie. And even if they were, I still couldn't care less."

"Jenna, are you sure? Are you _really_ sure that you don't want this?"

"This is _why_ I didn't even want to tell you!"

"I just want to know that you've at least _considered_ all your options. I don't want you to have to look back fifteen years from now, and regret not giving it a shot. _I _don't want to be the reason that you gave up your dream."

She took him firmly by the shoulders and made him look in her eyes.

"Donatello, you _are _the dream. I'm not like a lot of 24 year olds out there, finished with college, and still looking for a purpose. I've lost enough things in this life, that I know a bit about what has actual _worth_. I'm not giving up my dream - I'm holding_ on _to it."

* * *

A few minutes later the two of them walked back out to the living area, hands slightly entwined.

"I'm gonna get something to drink - you want?" She asked Donatello.

"Sure babe, but I can--"

"I know my way around your kitchen, I'll be right back."

Jenna disappeared, and Donatello sat down across from Raphael, who had been alone in the living area for that moment.

"Did you finish making out?" Raphael teased him.

"We weren't _even_." Donatello scoffed.

"I don't know Don, you might actually be turning a little red."

"Raph, that's like physically impossible."

"Hey it's your business and everything, I don't wanna cramp your style."

"We were just_ talking_."

When Jenna walked out of the kitchen, he was _still_ giving Donatello a hard time. Mike came out behind her, and she immediately turned to face him.

"Can I have that please?" She asked him.

"You want some after all?" He asked curiously.

"Just _give_ it."

Jenna walked right behind Raphael, and promptly dumped Mike's ice cream over his head.

"_Hey_!"

"Gotta learn when to shut up Raph." She taunted lightly.

"Donnie, you better get your girl before _I_ do." Raphael seethed.

Donatello crossed his arms with a bit of a dark look. "_Try_ it."


	62. The Question

* Luke loves himself some David Crowder - the song is "Foreverandever Ect".

* * *

(Three Days Later)

Luke bobbed his head lightly in time with the beat of the music, cranking the player up louder than he ever was allowed to back in his apartment. Convenience was the name of the game, but it didn't always lend itself to having very much _fun_. He'd been taking time out over the last two months to do some more work on the Brownstone in Chelsea that he'd helped his parents restore years ago. He hadn't lived in it since losing them, but had never wanted to let go of it either. Katherine had been gone for almost two weeks, and he'd used some of the extra time on his hands to get some major cleaning and painting done.

Broom in one hand, he maneuvered in circles across the bedroom, singing at the top of his voice.

__

"I think I'm on the brink of something large

Maybe like the breaking of the dawn

Or maybe like a match bein' lit

Or the sinking of a ship

Letting go gives a better grip---

I'm finding everything I'll ever need

By giving up, gaining everything

Falling for you for eternity

Right here at your feet

Where I want to be - I am yours!

Forever and ever, and ever, and ever..."

As the song was ending for the tenth time, he suddenly picked up on the sound of distant knocking. Swiftly he turned the CD Player down, smacking himself as he wondered how long _that_ had been going on. He quickly trotted down the stairs, expecting it to be a neighbor who was either interested in his progress, or irritated by his music. When he threw open the front door, his jaw dropped a little to see Katherine standing there on the porch, with luggage and all.

"Well it's _about _time. What's a girl gotta _do_ to get some attention around here?" She demanded.

Luke swooped her off the ground, and she entwined both arms around his neck, kissing him deeply. He carried her into the house, both kissing for several more seconds, before coming up for breathe and laughter.

"What happened to _Thursday_? I was going to surprise you!" He told her.

"We tied up the loose ends early, and I just hopped on a sooner flight."

"Why didn't you_ tell _me? I would've picked you up!"

"I wanted to surprise _you_!" She laughed as he finally put her down, and then went to grab her luggage off the porch.

"This isn't _fair_ Kat - I had all these plans and everything." Luke pretended to pout.

"I've had a few plans of my _own_ babe." She said a little deviously.

"How did you find me anyway?" Luke asked her. "I could have been anywhere."

"Are you forgetting that your phone has a _tracking_ device Luke?"

"Oh, that's true." He grinned, pulling her close again. "Did you keep tabs on me while you were gone?"

"I know my man better than_ that_."

"You think so?"

"I hardly _needed_ a tracking device to find you Luke. There are usually only one of four possible places you _could _be - it was just faster to check your phone than looking everywhere else first."

"I'm predictable, if nothing else."

"Well show me around babe, let me see what you've been working on."

Luke led her up the stairs, walking her through a couple of the rooms where he'd done the most painting.

"You're pretty good at this Luke."

"I'd better know my way around a brush by now. I _have_ to start keeping this place up a little better, before my parents start rolling over in their graves."

Katherine dropped into an oversized chair in the bedroom, motioning for him to join her.

"I wish I could have known them Luke."

"What with_ your _connections, you probably could know more about them than_ I _did." Luke said sardonically.

"Luke, I'm serious. It would have been nice to actually meet them."

"Well, if you spend any real time in this place, it's sort of like you _are_ meeting them. Their work _drove _them, but this _house_ was their passion."

"Which is why you never sold it."

"That's something I've never even considered. As far as I'm concerned, their own effort into it makes this place priceless."

Katherine was quiet for a moment, laying a hand lightly across his arm.

"I'm sorry I couldn't get here sooner. I really wanted to."

"Work is _work_ Kat...you have to be gone sometimes."

"Yes, but it's our first anniversary." She told him. "I wanted to be here for it."

"I told you I made plans. And now you're here_ early_."

"We can still do 'em, can't we?"

"I don't know if I can wait that long, not with you right in front of me."

"What is it Luke? What are you thinking?"

"I don't want to do it like this. I'm just going to have to wait, and so will you."

"Do what? You know I can't wait now that you've_ said _something."

"Then you'll just have to forget that I did." He said impishly.

"Don't _make_ me beat you." She threatened him.

"Must this all end in violence?"

"Lucas Caleb Barrows! What's the big deal? I'm here, you're here. Let's just go do whatever it is that you wanted to."

"You don't understand Kat, I've been planning this for weeks. I wanted everything to be perfect."

"You're driving me up the wall this second, do you realize that?" She asked, punching him hard in the shoulder.

"Ow! Is this you trying to get on my good side?"

"There's plenty more where that came from! Spill your guts _Doc_!"

"Kat, I don't even _have_ it here."

"You don't have what? You didn't have to get me anything."

"It's customary to already _have_ a certain something in hand, before you ask a certain question!"

She stared at him for a few seconds, her breath catching a little in her throat.

"What are you saying?"

"Kat, I didn't want to do it like _this_. I wanted to take you somewhere special. I've been rehearsing exactly what I wanted to say. It was going to be a memory."

"Provided that I said _yes_." She said teasingly.

"Don't play with me right now Kat, I'm trying really hard here. You have no idea how nervous I've been. If you need more time--"

"Why don't you just try _asking_?"

"Oh for Pete's sake. Let me do at least _part_ of what I planned, okay?"

"Are you going to get it out before our golden anniversary?"

"Hush! No more cracks for the next...fifteen minutes at _least."_

"They're only four words Luke. How long does it take to say?"

His aggravated look made her laugh, and then duck her head slightly.

"Alright I'm done. I'm shutting up, the floor is yours."

He let out a deep breath.

"Okay. So for the last several years...up until this last one, I've been on my own, and I _was_ happy. The guys, April, and Marc filled a huge void in my life. They _are_ my family now. For awhile I thought that it was plenty, all that I really needed. To be perfectly honest, I didn't see how I could safely bring anyone else into my personal life, and still stay close to the others too. So as much as they encouraged and pushed me, I simply steered clear. It was a sacrifice I was happy to make. Protecting them was only part of it, or course. I've never been very good in this department anyway. I didn't believe that a woman could possibly make me feel more complete than I already did. But I was wrong Kat.

I'll never forget that first night with you, taking you underground with us because we didn't have any other _choice_. I was afraid at the time, but you captured me too. That a perfect stranger would do what you did, risking your life to help get them out of that building alive. I was over my head in work that night, but my gaze kept coming back to you over and over again. I couldn't _stop_, it was like experiencing some force of nature that I didn't even realize existed.

I was consumed with you for days, and then you suddenly showed back up in my life, something I _never_ expected to happen. I um...I didn't know that it was possible to feel this way, or at least, that_ I _could. I've heard other people talk about love and attraction, but it never remotely hit home for me, not until I met you. I'm 33 years old, and you're the first girl I've ever loved, the only one I've ever thought about spending my life with. You're like this part of me that I never realized was missing, until I was finally filled to the point of overflowing. And now I can't imagine _not _having it."

He paused for a long moment, meeting her amber eyes.

"I don't ever want to lose that. Will you marry me Kat?"

"Depends." She said seriously, pausing for an instant. "When do I get my ring?"

"I told you it's not here! It's being sized, it's supposed to be ready_ tomorrow_."

"Shoot, I came back a day too early!"

"Well, don't leave me hanging here or anything."

She laughed happily, shoving him against the back of the chair so she could kiss him.

"You _know_ I will. I'm sorry I ruined your plans."

"It's okay. The only thing that matters is, you're _mine_."


	63. Desire & Explanations

*Parts of the flashback in this chapter were heavily inspired by my beautiful (and _never_ sleepy) 3 year old niece. I couldn't resist.

* * *

Donatello pulled the remote out of a surprised Raphael's grasp.

"I swear, if you make us watch anymore of these ghost hunting shows, _this _thing's gonna disappear!" He warned him.

"C'mon Donnie, these people are hysterical! Just watch this one, you'll see--"

"_No_." He said pointedly. "No more of these marathons."

"That's funny, they scared you as a _kid _too." Raphael cracked.

"I am_ not _scared of them Raph, they're just stupid. Let's find something all of us can watch."

"Me thinks thou protesth too much." Raphael laughed.

Donatello shot him a dirty look, and tossed the remote at Leonardo. "Pick something Fearless, anything but this." He said with obvious irritation, turning to go into the kitchen.

"Aw genius, don't be mad." Raphael called after him.

Donnie shot him another glance over his shoulder, and waved him off. "If you wanna _talk _about things that used to scare us as kids, I could always ask Doc to pick up a copy of Amityville Horror before he comes down."

"That's a _low _blow Donnie." Raph grumbled.

"You don't want to watch it for old time's sake?" Donatello teased him.

"You're not _still _wakin' up at 3:15 in the morning, are you Raphie?" Mike added with a grin.

"That isn't funny." He growled.

"No, it's really not." Leonardo said dryly. "Who do you think had to _calm_ him down about twice a month, for the following six years?"

"_Not_ helping Leo." Raphael said crossly.

"I recall_ trying _to help you." Leonardo said with a smile. "I told you not to watch that movie to begin with."

"That was fifteen _years_ ago. I ain't afraid of it anymore!" He insisted.

"Okay, okay." Donatello relented. "But you _started _it Raph."

"Fine, no more ghost hunting, if you never bring up that movie _again_."

"Deal Raph." Donatello laughed.

"How 'bout we just turn on something funny?" Mike suggested, but before Leonardo could do anything with the remote, there was a knock at their door.

Donatello trotted over to answer it, a little surprised to see Luke outside. "Doc. You're early!"

The man smiled a little secretively. "_She_ was early - so I asked her last night."

"Are you _kidding _me? You didn't even have the ring yet, did you?"

"She beat it out of me." Luke said sardonically.

"Get in here Doc, you have to tell us about it." Donnie said, as he threw the door open wider.

"Did we just hear you say that you _asked_ her?" Raphael asked immediately.

"I couldn't wait anymore. All of the plans sort of just went out the window." Luke told them.

"She said _yes_, didn't she?" Mike couldn't wait to ask.

"Not without a bit of a hard time first."

"Well, where the heck_ is _she Doc?" Leo demanded playfully.

"She had to report in today for a couple of hours - I'm going to meet back up with her at 5. In the meantime..." Luke trailed off, holding up a small bag for Donatello to see.

"Is that what I _think_ it is?" The turtle asked swiftly.

"What do _you_ think?" Luke teased lightly.

Donnie grabbed him by the arm, quickly pulling Luke out of the living area, and into the Lab.

"Let me see it, let me see it!"

"Which one are you _talking_ about Donnie? Do you want to see _Kat's _or..."

"Doc!"

"Alright, keep your shell on, it's right _here_." Luke laughed, pulling out one of the _two_ boxes from the bag he was carrying.

"You didn't mix 'em up?"

"I know which is which Donnie - just take a look at it."

He held his breath a little bit as he opened the ring box, and then let it slowly.

"It's even better than the pictures Doc. Dang it, just thinkin' about this is making me sweat."

"I know how you feel."

"The heck you do - _your_ girl already said yes."

"You really think Jenna doesn't want this?"

"_Forever_ is a different story when you consider our situation Doc." Donnie told him quietly. "Askin' her this...it's like asking if she wants to turn her back on the world."

"You do still realize that she _has_ a free will."

"I know she does."

"Tell me something Donnie. Over the course of these last...seven years? Have you ever_ once _thought about what you really wanted?"

Donatello didn't say anything right away, shaking his head slightly. "It's not like I don't have my own feelings Doc. I just never thought that this was completely fair to her. The physiological thing is _my_ problem, and I never wanted her to suffer for it. No matter how great you guys are, and despite the fact that you never complain...you can't _tell _me that every single one of you doesn't have to sacrifice a tremendous amount, just to be in our lives. You don't understand how that can weigh somebody down Luke. Can you try to imagine how hard it actually is, asking somebody to give up everything just for _you_?"

"Probably about as hard as it would be for any of _us _to walk away at this point." Luke replied. "Nobody _forces _our hand Donnie, and nobody has guilted us into this. April, Marc, Victoria...all of us, we can't_ stand _the thought of not being here. Last night I...I told Kat that she completes me. And I _know_ that Jenna brings out the same quality in you. The thing you've got to realize now, is that she's not a whole person with _you_ either."

* * *

"What the heck_ is _this?" Raphael was demanding out in the living area. "I leave for five minutes, and I come back to this junk?"

"It's amazing Raph - this girl here was pregnant for nine months, and didn't even realize it until she went into labor!" Leonardo exclaimed.

"You're back just in time Raph - Leo is trying to corrupt my innocence." Mike cracked.

"Way to go Fearless, now we'll have to tell him where babies _really_ come from." Raphael laughed.

"I bet we would have had an easier time doing that, than Sensei had explaining why _we_ were different." Leo remarked.

"I don't remember that." Mike spoke up.

"You were too young Mikey. Hey Raph, throw me that blanket behind you, I'm _freezing_."

Raphael yanked it off the chair, and tossed it over to him. "You might have to refresh my memory too Fearless." Raphael admitted.

* * *

"Don't wa'na gota bed! 'M not tired!

Splinter bent over to pull the young turtle off the floor. "Yes you _are_ my son."

"No 'm not." He murmured a little more quietly, but not entirely ready to give up the fight yet.

"Enough Donatello. Your younger brother has been asleep for half an hour, it is time to stop stalling. You are _going_ to bed."

He carried the young one upstairs to the bedroom, and returned downstairs a few moments later.

"Alright my sons," He said to Leonardo and Raphael. "They are both in bed, so--"

"Chichi, I wa'na drink a water." A little voice interrupted him from the top of the stairs.

"You've already had one Donatello! Now go back to bed."

"But I havta use the bathroom."

"You just _said_ you wanted a drink!" Splinter called back.

"Um...I want _both_."

Splinter sighed a little wearily. "Go the bathroom, and then go to your room."

"Can I hava hug first?"

"Don't _make_ me come up there Donatello!"

"Don't get mad at him Chichi." Leonardo spoke up quickly. "Raphie told him _we_ don't have bedtimes."

His younger brother looked up from his racecar indignantly. "I did not!"

"Did so!"

"Did NOT!"

"DID SO!"

"_Chinmoku_!" Splinter interrupted them both. "I should send _both _of you to bed this instant."

"Sorry Chichi." They said together.

"I need you to be_ good _for me. I have to go get some supplies, but I will be back soon."

"Chichi, wait." Leonardo said, before he could make even a step. "Me and Raph, we been wonderin'..."

"What is it Leonardo??"

"Um, we were just..um...are we not 'aposed to be here?"

"What are you talking about young one?"

"The people. You don't want 'em to see us. And you go to the surface, only we _never_ get to. Why?"

"My son, one day you will realize that everything I do is for your own good."

Leonardo sat down with a huff on the rug, as only a six year old can. "You _always_ say that, and you never tell us nothin'."

"Is it 'cause we're _monsters_?" Raphael asked suddenly.

Splinter sat back down with a bit of a wince. "You are _not_ monsters Raphael. Come here, both of you. I suppose I _have_ been silent on this matter for too long."

They shuffled over to the couch, looking at him expectantly.

"The world around us is _full _of people, and it is safer for _all_ of us to stay out of their sight. When I go to the surface, I do not allow them to see me either." Splinter told them slowly.

"Cause the people are bad." Raphael stated plainly.

"No, no my son. Most humans _aren't_ bad, they are just very different from us. There are those who would be frightened to see us, and others...others who would do us great harm, if they were allowed to. Do you understand?"

"Why are they _scared _of us?" Leonardo asked.

"We are very...unique, Leonardo. Many humans fear what they do not understand, and have never seen."

"We _are_ the only ones like this, aren't we?" Leo mumbled.

"The only ones that I know of." Splinter answered lightly.

"Why are we diff'rent?" Leonardo pushed him, and Splinter took another deep breath.

"I wish that I could explain it to you my son, but I cannot. I myself do not understand the process by which we were changed. But there is _one_ thing that I know. It took a series of _very_ special circumstances, for us to become what we are today. The transformation is what gave you minds to reason, personalities, all the growth you have experienced. So although I cannot tell you how, or _why_ it happened...I can say that it was much more than just an accident on one cold night."

Splinter stared at his two oldest for a second longer. "I have wanted to protect you, but I cannot shelter you entirely underground forever, can I? I see now how unfair that is. Tonight Leonardo, you will come _with_ me to the surface."

"But--" Raphael's face was the picture of tragedy.

"And tomorrow, _you_ will come with me Raphael. I cannot take _both_ of you at once - one must remain here with your other brothers."

* * *

"You_ always _got to do everything first." Raphael complained.

"Hey, _I_ brought it up to him, didn't I?" Leonardo grinned. "You can't honestly _still_ be sore about this."

"Just change the channel Fearless, and all will be forgotten."


	64. Bug

Luke and Donatello finally came out of the Lab to join the others a few minutes later.

"What are you guys sneakin' around for?" Raphael asked.

"Doc picked up _both_ of the rings." Donatello said with a bit of a smile.

"Cool, let's see 'em!" Mike jumped in, and Donatello walked over to the middle of the couch to show all of his brothers at once.

"When are you going to do it Donnie?" Leonardo asked him.

"Soon. I want to talk to her Mom first...and unlike _Doc _here, I don't want to throw all planning out the window."

"Sure, ya already made her wait _this_ long genius, why not give it a couple more years?" Raphael teased him.

Luke was about to interject something, when he was slightly distracted by Leonardo's violent tremor. He cocked his head curiously at the turtle.

"Are you okay Leo?"

He shrugged. "Sorta. It feels like it's about twenty degrees in here. I'm just cold."

Luke bent over him from behind, grazing his forehead with the back of his hand.

"You're not _cold_ Leo, you're _hot_. Get up right now, I want you in the Lab."

"Why didn't you _say_ anything?" Donnie demanded as he followed them inside.

"It _just _started Don, I was going to." Leo protested.

"Are you experiencing any other symptoms?" Luke was quick to ask.

"My throat is a bit sore."

"Let me see it Leo."

He dutifully allowed Luke to examine him hands on, while Donatello used his scanner on the other side.

"You're looking pretty red Leo," Luke told him. "It's definitely inflamed. What's his temp Donnie?"

"101.5. Little high Fearless."

"Just do your thing then." Leo replied with actual smile. "You ought be able to find every vein in my body by now."

"You wanna grab the Hydralin Doc? I want to make sure the _others_ are actually okay."

"Will do Donnie."

Leonardo closed his eyes for a second while Luke was setting up the IV, and then cracked another smile at the man. "'Bout as routine as ever, huh Doc?"

"You guys have a nasty habit of picking up these bugs. In all honesty, a different climate would probably do you all a world of good."

"And leave all this behind?" Leo laughed softly.

When Donatello came back from the living area, Jenna was with him this time.

"Hey_ you_. What's going on here?" She asked him.

"Oh nothin', just figured I'd give the brainiacs something to do. Haven't had a crisis down here in about eight weeks, so we were overdue." He replied.

"How do you _joke _about something like this?" She wondered aloud.

"You think I'm in any real danger with _these_ two of my case? Please, _this _is nothing. You wanna talk about being sick, you should have been here nine years ago."

"I think I recall reading that tale." Luke said.

"You should." Donnie told him. "That experience is what prompted the completion of my very first drug venture."

* * *

(Nine Years Ago)

Leonardo had been seriously struggling in that morning's spar, a fact that Raphael was completely taking advantage of, until he was thoroughly confused.

"Fearless, what's wrong with you? You're slower than I'll _get_ out today."

With a small roll of his eyes, Leonardo slumped against the wall for support.

"Sorry Raph, I'm _trying_, I am. I don't know, maybe I've been pushing it too hard."

"We do get a lot done in here together Leo. You probably don't _need_ all those extra katas on your own." Raphael said a little reproachfully.

"Yeah, I'm sure that's all it is."

"Well, we don't need to do anymore for_ today_. You wanna drink Leo?"

Leonardo nodded. He hadn't budged from his position against the wall, breathing a little heavily. Raphael started for the mini-fridge across the room, and his back had been turned for approximately ten seconds, when he heard a peculiar _thud_.

Raphael glanced back over his shoulder, startled to see his brother face-down on the mat.

"_Leo_?" He dropped the plastic bottles he was holding, and hurried back to him.

"Leo?" He repeated a little anxiously, quickly rising when his brother didn't respond to him. He ran out to the hallway, and raised his voice quickly.

"Sensei, Donnie, I need you!"

****

Splinter had made quick work of separating the other turtles from Leonardo, after only taking a brief look at him. Donatello wasn't parting so easily.

"Sensei, with how fast his fever is rising, I really think you ought let me in there."

"Out of the question my son - do you not see that _you_ could get sick too?"

"But he needs _help_ Master! You know I've been working on something, I just need a little more time with it."

"The answer is _no _Donatello. Now make yourself scarce."

Splinter went back to the vigil he'd been keeping with Leonardo, who was experiencing increasing hallucinations. His own remedies were having little effect as of yet, and his temperature had been holding steady in a dangerous place. It had to break soon.

****

Donatello had gone to bed that night, utterly frustrated. His Sensei needed to _listen_ to him. He'd come so close with his recent experimentation, just a couple more trials, and it might actually be safe enough to use. There would be no convincing _him_ of that though.

With a bit of a sigh, he rolled over and _tried_ to go to sleep. But he ended up simply lying there for the next hour, hardly able to even close his eyes. His phone going off startled him slightly, and he rolled back over to reach it.

_Why is Raph __calling__ me?_

He picked it up, regardless.

"Hey Raph, you can't sleep either?"

"Genius, somethin's wrong with me." He murmured wearily. "Can you c'mere?"

Donatello got up quietly, trying not to disturb his younger brother. He walked into his brothers' shared bedroom, where Raphael was sitting up slightly on the bottom bunk.

"What's wrong Raph?"

"Head's buzzin', room's freezing. You tell me."

Donatello dropped on the floor by his bunk, resting a hand against his cheek. "You're _sick_."

****

With a firm grip around his back, Donatello walked his older brother downstairs, and knocked at the Lab to get Splinter's attention.

"Boys? What are you doing?" Their Sensei asked, eyes flicking back and forth between both of them.

"Sensei, Raph is sick - it looks like the same thing Leo's got." Donatello explained.

For one of the few times in his life, he noticed a visible shudder in his Master's countenance.

"Come in Raphael." He said a little tiredly, not even stopping Donatello from walking him in.

The fourteen year old turtle gazed at Leonardo for a moment, and then glanced back at Raphael.

"Master," He said with quiet firmness. "You _have _to let me stay. If Raphael was exposed, Mike and I already could have been too. Let me finish this thing, before it floors _all_ of us."

With a swallow, Splinter nodded. "Alright. Get to work my son."

****

Donatello had spent almost two months already studying the compound, which was a combination of different herbal elements, with a few twists of his own. He'd had ideas about proceeding with something like this for years, but had never had access to the necessary equipment and supplies, not until April had come along. Now he didn't have anymore time to lose; he had to finish filling in the gaps that remained.

Around 6am, his Sensei came to stand over his shoulder again.

"How is it coming?" He asked him.

"It's about there Master. We don't have all the equipment that I wish we did. Only having _one_ IV means that the drug is going to have to be injected."

"That makes a big difference?"

"I'll say it does. Using the IV enables the delivery to be a lot more gradual. It's a safer method for getting it into our systems. I have a feeling that the strength of the dose is pretty much going to wipe 'em out completely for awhile. You need to be prepared for that Sensei." Donatello told him evenly, suddenly pushing back from the desk. "It's as ready as it can be for now. I'm going to write down some very specific instructions for you."

"Why do you have to write them? Can you not just tell me what to do?"

"For now, sure, but I don't know how much longer. I feel it coming on _myself _Sensei."

"My son..."

"It's okay, it had to be done Master. And now you've got the key, so that's what really matters."

"I am sorry Donatello."

"For what Sensei?"

"I should have _listened _to you earlier. From now on, with these matters...you can be assured that I _will_."

* * *

"Yeah, if you wanna talk about _rough_, that was it." Donatello told Jenna.

"It's not so bad now." Leonardo added with another tired smile. "'Cause we're used to it, right Donnie?"

"We build a better tolerance to the drugs, the more that we use them." Donatello agreed, giving Jenna's shoulder an affectionate squeeze. "Don't worry babe. We're dealing with it early on - Leo will be fine."

She nodded vaguely. "You guys should teach me some of this stuff sometime. Maybe I could actually help in here a little."

"You've got the chops for it Jenna." Luke allowed. "Anytime you want to start, just let us know."

"How about now?"


	65. Inhibitions

(Three Days Later)

* * *

Raging fire, burning out of control. How long could it keep blazing this way, without any fuel to continually feed it? It felt like it had been waging _forever_. He wanted to get up and get something to drink, but that would require actually _moving_. He didn't remotely have the energy to do that.

Uncomfortable and just a bit miserable, he shifted slightly on the mattress, searching for a better position. He felt something cool against his forehead, and stirred a little bit more, opening his eyes half-way. He made out the raven-haired girl after a couple of seconds, and actually smiled in spite of himself.

"Jen." His voice felt so raw, he had no choice but to barely make it above a whisper.

"Hi Donnie...I'm sorry I woke you."

She had started to pull away from him slightly, and he reached for her hand weakly.

"Don't stop...feels _good_."

Jenna smiled, wringing out the cloth in fresh water before returning it to his forehead. She lingered with a hand on his cheek, stroking him lightly. His gaze was just a bit glassy, but he still seemed to be wholly aware of her.

"What time is it?" He asked.

"Little after 3 in the morning."

"You should get some sleep." He murmured.

"Huh uh Donnie, this is _my_ watch. You're not getting rid of me that easily."

"How's Leo?"

"His temperature was better today, he's just resting like Doc told him to. He feels a little _guilty_ I think."

Donatello closed his eyes briefly, clearing his throat painfully. "Not _his _fault."

"How _stupid_ of me." Jenna said to herself, rising to get a bottled water.

Donatello sat up very slightly on his elbows. As thirsty as he was, he could still only manage a couple of sips.

"You don't want anymore?"

"_Hurts_ to swallow."

"I'm sorry baby. I wish I could make you feel better."

He grinned tiredly. "You _are_."

"You should go back to sleep. I'm sure _Doc_ wouldn't want you talking this much."

"Then _you_ talk."

"How will that help you rest Donnie?"

"I dunno." He answered, actually sounding a little more out of it.

"Not another word. If you stay quiet, I'll talk to you a little longer. Then you have to sleep."

He nodded, releasing another shaky breath.

"Am I being too easy on you?" She asked with an impish smile.

He started to shrug, but ended up trembling instead. Jenna felt him again, frowning a little. "Honey, you've _got_ to get better."

"I will." He mumbled, and glanced up at the IV machine. "I might...need more."

"Oh snap, I was supposed to wake Marc up for that. I'll be right back."

Jenna disappeared from the room for a moment, and he rolled slightly on his side. The room shifted before his eyes when he tried to sit up, and he quickly closed them to stop the whirling.

Marcus returned with Jenna, and came swiftly to kneel by Donatello's side.

"Donnie, can I get a quick look at you?"

He just barely opened his eyes again, glancing at Marcus.

"Mmhm."

Marcus gave him a brief once-over, hesitating to finish going over a read-out.

"You're not coming down fast enough for my liking. I'm going to increase your hydralin, that should knock it out, _and_ help you sleep."

"All the better." He mumbled.

Marcus set him up with a new IV, and then winked at Jenna.

"He'll sleep easier now. You sure you're okay in here?"

"Yes, I wanna be here." She told him.

"Alright, well, I'll be back around 7...but if you have any issues before then, be sure and let me know."

Jenna sat back down by Donatello, bending over to kiss him on the forehead.

"So are you better yet?" She teased.

"It hasn't even kicked in."

"Let me know when it _does_."

"Do you want me to sleep, or not?" He teased back.

"I'm sorry," She said seriously. "I can leave you alone."

"No one asked you to do_ that_."

"Doc actually _might_ have told me to." She admitted.

"_He's_ not here." He said with a surprising surge of life. "C'mere for a second."

"Donnie, you're already burning up, you don't need _me_ up there with you."

He gave her the sad eyes that he had somewhat perfected over the years, and she broke almost instantly.

"Fine, just for a little bit." She replied, pausing to pull the rubber-band out of her hair. As she started to tie it back up in a better pony-tail, Donnie spoke up again.

"I love it when you leave it down."

"Really? What else do you love?" She asked coyly, coming to lean on the edge of his bed.

"Mmm...you smell fantastic."

"Those drugs really _are_ kicking in, huh?"

"You have no clue how bad I want you right now."

She giggled lightly, squeezing his arm. "Babe, I _don't_ think making out is on the approved list of activities that Doc left."

"Since when do you follow rules?"

"You've got me there...but you need rest Donnie."

"How can I relax with your gorgeous self sittin' there?"

"As much as I appreciate listening to you _without _inhibitions, I think you'd better stop Donnie. Don't waste any more breath, just get better for me."

"You're like an angel. Are you really _here_?" He murmured.

"Yes Donnie, I'm here, though I doubt that you'll remember it in the morning."

"I wanna be with you."

"You _are_ with me."

"No...like...forever."

"I do too Donatello. It'd be nice to hear that from you when you're actually _in_ your right mind. Do you know where you are right now?"

"Feels like the surface of the sun." He slurred a little.

"Okay." She said with a determined finality. "Be quiet, go to sleep, and you'll feel better when you wake up."

"But I still want you."

"That's nice Donnie. Go to sleep."

* * *

Donatello roused again a little after ten in the morning, noticeably cooler, but fighting a headache and a _seriously_ sore throat. He raised his head a couple of inches, and saw Marcus over by the bank of computers. He tried to call out to him, but barely had any voice at all. Fortunately, his movement was enough to set the doctor off.

"Good morning." Marcus said a little cheerily. "You're doing a bit better, though you probably don't _feel_ like it. I bet you're thirsty."

He nodded, and Marcus fetched a bottle, and came back to set the bed up for him.

"I know it's hard to swallow. Just drink what you can, okay? Do you have any voice left at all?"

He shrugged, and then shook his head that he didn't want anymore water.

"You didn't take very much. Something hot would probably do you some good. I'll get Mikey to make you some of the plain tea."

Donatello nodded that he would try it, amazed by how tired he still felt.

"Doc's going to be down here in a little while, I know he wants another look at you. Leo's doing better this morning, having an easier time talking."

Donatello fingered Jenna's necklace, and then glanced pointedly at Marc, who laughed a little.

"She's getting some sleep Donnie. She was with you all last night, do you remember?"

His brow furrowed as he tried to, and he finally held up two fingers to indicate a small amount.

"Apparently you got a little chatty with her, sure didn't do your throat any good. Do me a favor, and _don't_ try talking today."

He nodded understandingly, but hadn't let go of her medallion.

"She'll be back later on Donnie, we can't let her stay up all hours." Marcus told him. "I'm going to see Mike, think you can stay awake for me in the meantime?"

Another nod, and Marcus was out the door. After he'd gone, Donatello glanced up at the IV machine.

_Judging from the headache, they must have had to increase the dosage last night. _

It was an unfortunate side-effect of the stronger doses, that Donatello had never been able to eliminate.

_Times like these, I miss Sensei more than ever. His hands always made it feel better. At least the fever is down. Now if I can just get a grip here..._

Marcus returned to him about five minutes later, having transferred the hot liquid into a flask for him.

"Ready to try this?"

He nodded, and _willed _himself to swallow a couple of times - forcing the entirety of it down over the course of fifteen minutes.

"That's good Donnie." Marc encouraged him. "Hopefully you could take some broth later. Or are you hungry now?"

He shook his head firmly - there was no way he was forcing anything else down right this second.

"Okay. Get some more rest, and Doc will be here soon."


	66. Guarantee

* The song is "I'm Ready", lyrics belong to Cherie.

* * *

"I know that your out there somewhere,

Moving in another direction,

So just hurry up and come, as fast as you can run,

I'm ready, come and find me

I'm not gonna, I've got the sun on my side

It's heavy, 'cause I'm finally

Open for the moment

I'm ready, ready..."

Mike _heard_ her voice before he saw her, and glanced up from the couch to see Jenna coming down the stairs.

"Hey - _you_ seem happy today." He said to her.

"Hm? Yeah, I had a good night."

"You _did_? Weren't you sitting up with Donnie and Leo?"

"Uh huh. Mike, do you think it would be possible to drug one of you, without you realizing it?" She asked with a teasing tone.

"Wow, _that's_ a loaded question. I dunno, you'd have to ask Donnie. What _happened_ last night?"

"Nothing." She said innocently. "It was just nice to see Donnie...a little more relaxed."

"Was he cuckoo for cocoa puffs?"

She giggled and shook a finger at him. "Not a word! He would absolutely die."

"It was that bad, huh?"

"I _told_ you, just keep your mouth shut, okay?"

"Yup. It must have been some night."

"Mike, I'm hungry - what do you think we could do about that?"

"There's a kitchen full of wonders right behind that door, and your wish is my command."

* * *

(Two Days Later)

_He was floating through fog, listening to what sounded like ocean waves crashing over him. It was peaceful at least, nothing like the visions of fire from before. He was flying high above the city, so far it felt like he was entering the atmosphere. There was no questioning as to if he was __able__ to fly, it was only a matter of leaving the normal restraints behind._

_When he looked back it seemed like North America was already a thousand miles away, but the thought didn't disturb him. The clouds he was now entering seemed thicker than the true atmosphere, he could just about feel himself getting lost inside them. In the moment that he couldn't see anything around him, nerves finally __did__ strike, and his ascent was brought to an abrupt halt._

_**Let go.**_

_The voice didn't shock him, as it might have if he'd actually been awake. Here in this setting, it seemed only natural._

_**Stop giving in to fear.**_

_Fear. In some shape or form, it had plagued him for years - anxiety over not being good enough, strong enough. Fear of losing, while also fear of hanging on._

_**Let go.**_

_He __could __keep flying, regardless of the fact that he didn't know where he was, but it meant traveling blindly into unchartered territory. That had never been his strength. His place was to analyze, to decipher, to study. He rarely made a serious move without thinking it through entirely - which was probably what made him hesitate now._

_**You cannot control everything.**_

_It would be easier if he could, but he __knew__ that much was true. He had been steadily opening up for years, but still had yet to completely take his hands off, or throw all caution to the wind. Even the thought of losing control __here__ was enough to make him want to cling tighter._

_**Let GO my son. You will never be whole until you do.**_

****

Donatello woke up rather suddenly, emotion already rising to the surface. He had felt so close by, it was as if he could have reached out and touched his Master. He buried his head into his pillow as he couldn't stem the tears.

"Donnie?"

He glanced up, to see Leonardo standing over him.

"What's wrong?"

"What are you doing up Leo?"

"I'm fine. Now what's wrong?"

"Nothing. It was just a dream, that I didn't want to wake up from." He sniffed, and stared up at the ceiling for a moment. He wanted to say more, but he hesitated for some reason.

_Let go._

"Leo, I don't know _why_ this has to be so hard to do. I want to ask her."

"I _know_ you want this. Why are you so afraid Donnie?" He asked him gently.

"I don't know."

"I think you_ do _know."

"I...I don't want to lose her."

"What do you think is going to happen? That she'll change her mind?"

"There are no guarantees."

"You're right Donnie, there aren't. You go to sleep every single night, and you don't know for _certain_ that you'll wake up in the morning. Every time we step outside, you don't _know_ that the wrong person isn't going to catch up with us. And with every single breath you take, there's no guarantee that it won't be your last. That doesn't mean you stop _doing_ those things. You can't keep holding back, just because you're afraid it won't work out. Take a _chance_ Donnie, or you're always going to regret it."

* * *

About an hour later there was a knock at the door, and both of them sat up, expecting it to be one of the Docs. It turned out not to be either of the men, but Jenna peering inside.

"Hi hon." Donnie called as loudly as he could manage, and she instantly came all the way inside.

"You have a voice."

"Just a little. _You're_ a sight for sore eyes." He told her.

"Hey, I'm gonna get up for a minute." Leonardo announced.

"Are you _allowed_ to do that?" Donatello asked him.

"I don't see the Docs, do you?" Leonardo grinned. "I'm just going to stretch my legs, I'll be back."

"Don't get yourself in trouble." Donnie told him, and turned back to Jenna as he shuffled out of the room.

He chuckled lightly when she shook out of her hair in an exaggerated motion.

"It looks so pretty like that."

"Yeah, you told me."

"I did? Recently?"

"Couple of nights ago, when I was sitting up with you when you first got sick. Do you remember any of it?"

"I have a _vague_ recollection of you being there, but nothing specific comes to mind. Why? Was I loopy?"

She looked a little disappointed for a second, and then smiled non-chalently. "Oh, no reason. You were perfectly lovely."

"I hope I didn't talk your ear off."

"No, no...you were interesting."

"Oh brother, what does _that_ mean?"

She came over to sit by him on the edge of the bed, kissing him rather than giving him a real answer.

"Nothing. I missed you." She said.

He relaxed under her touch, playfully snapping his fingers shut around her hand.

"I missed you too. Sorry I went and got sick on you."

"You should have _known_ to steer clear." Jenna lectured him.

"Nobody _made_ me!" He protested. "You can't blame me for that."

"I suppose not." She said, pressing against him to kiss a second time. "But don't make a habit of it."

"You know me."

"_Uh huh_." She answered a little sarcastically.

"How are things on the surface?"

"I haven't actually been there for awhile Donnie." Jenna said with a small smile.

"Okay...how are my other brothers?"

"The usual. I think they're getting _bored_ of beating up on each other though, I know they're ready to see you and Leo."

"Doc was going to clear that today, I think. Where did he go?"

"He was picking up medical necessities...I don't think he'll be much longer."

"Did he take my card? I don't want him payin' for anything."

"I don't have a clue Donnie, but don't worry your head about it."

"That's not part of the job description." Donatello grumbled.

"Don't get worked up over it babe."

"He does _enough_ for us Jenna!"

"_Alright_, that's enough. Relax now, would you?"

He sighed heavily, but then smiled when Jenna drew close to him again.

"Do you know how beautiful you are?"

"Only when you tell me." She said lightly, resting her head against his shoulder.

"Sometimes it's hard to remember what it felt like, not having you here. It might sound weird...but it's like my life _started_ that night when I first met you." He told her slowly.

"No, I know what you mean." She said softly. "My own life is broken up into compartments, from the most significant things that ever happened to me. The bad stuff is still there, those memories are impossible to completely escape. But the more time that I spend _living_...the more the rest of it feels almost like a dream."

"Do you remember your father Jen, your real one?"

"_He_ feels more like a dream than any of it. I have these pictures of him in my head, tiny snippets of memories, things I remember doing with him. What I can recall _most_ are those final moments, when my Mom was trying to kill us both. He fought her to the very end, trying to protect me. I don't know how many times she shot him, I never _wanted_ to know. I think the important thing is, I remember how much he loved me. Even with everything that I went through as a kid, I _never_ had to question that."

"Sometimes...I take for granted everything that we really have here...or I used to at least." Donatello said thoughtfully.

Less than a second later, both of them heard a shout from outside the Lab.

"_Leonardo_!"

The voice was distinctly Luke's.

"Uh oh. Busted." Donnie said aloud.

"You _warned_ him."

"Nobody ever _listens_ to me babe." He replied.

The door to the Lab came flying open with dramatic force, and a very irritated Luke came in with both hands firmly on Leo's shoulders. If it were possible for the man to have carried him by the scruff of his neck, he probably _would_ have.

"Get back into bed this instant!" Luke ordered him. "Who _told_ you that you could get up?"

"Nobody." Leo answered, not able to hold in a smile. "Are you and Kat gonna have kids Doc? I think you're ready for them."

"I'll _show_ you who's ready for kids, if you don't get your shell back where it belongs! Now!"

"Hey Doc." Donnie greeted him. "Did you get what you needed?"

"I swear, I can't leave for an hour and a half without coming back to trouble, can I?"


	67. Permission

Victoria had just finished washing her hands in the kitchen, when she heard the firm knock on her window, coming from the living room. Not even taking the time to dry them, she hurried out to the adjoining room to let Donatello inside.

"Hi." She greeted him. "You made it. You really didn't have to come all the way up here y'know. I would have been happy to come down. With you being sick--"

"That was a week and a half ago. I'm all good." He assured her.

"It's just that it's so _cold_ tonight. Did Luke give you a hard time?"

"No, it was actually _really_ easy. I just didn't tell him I was going."

"_Please_ tell me you're joking."

"I _could_, but I'd be lying."

She shook her head, as she was trying not to smile. "Do you want some coffee?"

"I'd _love_ some."

Victoria returned to the kitchen to measure some grounds out, and hit the button to make it brew immediately.

"Well sit down, don't be a stranger or anything." She encouraged him. "Are you warm enough?"

"I _will_ be."

She pulled a blanket off the couch and threw it to him. "How did you come here?"

"On foot. The Docs aren't around, but I didn't want them to see the van missing if somebody dropped by. Luke's known to do that."

"And what happens if he were to drop by, and you still weren't there?"

"Mike has instructions to cover for me."

"You picked the brother who _can't_ lie under pressure?"

He hesitated for a beat as if to consider her statement, and then laughed. "Maybe that _wasn't_ the smartest move. Oh well, too late now."

"Well, I'm _taking_ you back to the van entrance when you need to leave here. If you get sick again, Luke would kill you with his bare hands."

"I put things off as long as I could, it's just not fair to do it anymore." He said seriously.

"I'll ask what in the world_ that _means when I come back." Victoria told, disappearing back into the kitchen to pick up the coffee.

He took the proffered mug from her with a big smile. "_Thanks_. He's been restricting my caffeine intake too."

"Oh, that's just great. I'm helping you get into all _kinds_ of trouble tonight, aren't I?"

Donatello blew a bit of steam off of it, then savoring his first cup of coffee in well over two weeks.

"Thanks for letting me come up. I've been wanting to talk to you."

"Yes, about this _thing_ that couldn't wait anymore. What's going on Donnie? Why didn't you want Jenna to know that you were up here?"

"Because I want to_ talk _about her. I'm going to ask you to be patient with me, because this isn't easy to do."

"Is something _wrong_ Donatello? She hasn't mentioned any problems, but..."

"No Vic, nothing is wrong per say. I need your honest thoughts on a couple of things, and it's probably less intimidating if Jenna isn't actually_ here_."

"So what's on your mind?"

"It feels like I've known Jenna for a lifetime somehow. Things have changed so much, since that first night. I never pictured myself falling for a human Victoria. Heck, I _sure_ never pictured a human falling for me. I know that I've put her through some emotional hell, even though I never wanted to. You have to understand how difficult it is, to pursue a real relationship in light of our...circumstances.

Whether or not I really _wanted_ it, was never the question. I've been head over heels for that girl for years. I don't know how anyone could _not_ love her. I stopped keeping track of how many times I tried to push her away, though I'm sure she remembers every single time. I hate myself for hurting her, for not giving her the only thing she ever wanted from me.

Last year, the attack on the UN was a real eye opener for me. Before it all went down, I was completely set on ending things, doing what I thought was right for_ her_. But coming that close to losing her that night, it made me walk away with a different perspective. One of my brothers had told me that very day, that my feelings for her weren't just going to disappear. I thought that I could handle whatever pain that would require on my end, as long as it meant she would go back to really living in _your_ world.

I wasn't prepared for what it would really feel like, to think that she could be completely gone. When she didn't answer her phone...Victoria, it was one of the scariest few minutes I've ever been through. And in those few moments, while I was struggling to get a fix on the signal coming from her cell phone, I made a decision. _If_ she was alive, _if _I was as able to see her again, I wasn't going to end it like that. I couldn't keep disappointing her, or lying to _myself._

The truth is that I wanted to be with her, more than just about anything. I simply didn't think it was _fair_ to make her choose. At the time, I couldn't imagine even asking her to. I've been living under that mindset for years Vic. No matter how close we ever felt, it's constantly been in the back of my mind. I _couldn't _ask her to give up her world, to turn her back on everything that mattered to her."

He hadn't been making eye contact with her up until that point, but now finally turned her direction.

"I need to know how you _really_ feel about the two of us being together. I need you to be honest."

Victoria took a couple of seconds to gather her thoughts.

"I trusted Jenna rather blindly, for several years Donatello. _I_ was the one who talked Michael into letting her return to the states to begin with. He wanted to protect her, to keep her close to home. I understood the feeling, I wanted her to be safe too. But I also wanted her to be happy. After a _lifetime_ of turmoil, I thought that she deserved that much. She was never some little birdie that we adopted, just to keep her in a cage.

So I went along with what I _knew_ she wanted, trusting her judgement that _whoever _you were was really worth all this. I never believed that she was in any real danger from you, my girl's smarter than that. But it _was_ a rather empty feeling, missing out on a part of her life which was so important to her.

There's no possible way that I could have guessed how the situation_ really _stood, _why_ she couldn't tell me about you. I didn't even know what to say when she told me that you were coming into the United Nations after us. All I could think was...'Who the heck_ is _this guy, and how's he supposed to get to us?'. It didn't really sink in that we were going to meet, not until she told me the truth about everything.

As for what I think about the two of you _together_, after being able to finally observe you with my own eyes over the last year, I feel like I can actually comment on the matter. I've had the opportunity in my lifetime to see love in many forms, and experienced it deeply myself. Not that I consider myself to be an expert on that matter, but I _do_ think that I can see what's right in front of me. What the two of you have is more _real, _than almost any relationship I've seen up close. I believe with _everything_ inside of me that she's safe with you...and that you need her, as much as she needs you."

Donatello took a very deep breath.

"I want to ask her something, but I didn't want to do it without talking to you first."

"Is it the big one?"

He nodded. "I understand the implications of something like this, it's why I waited so long to begin with. I want to make it _very_ clear to you, that I don't want to come between the two of you."

"You're not kicking me out of the family, are you?" She cracked.

"No, no, I didn't mean--"

"I'm teasing you. Go on."

"I love her, and I want to be with her. For me, the commitment doesn't seem like a difficult thing. But for her, it means giving up _a lot_. While I _think_ this is what she wants too...I wanted your opinion on this."

"I know that you guys worry about the things you _think_ we're giving up for you. But Donnie, for everything that we pass up, the chance to be a part of your lives more than makes up for all of it."

"Do you think she wants this?"

Victoria paused for a second, and then nodded. "I do. And once Jenna gets something in her head, she doesn't let go of it easily." She finished lightly.

"Tell me about it. If that weren't true, she would have written me off years ago. This might sound stupid, but what I _really_ came here for was to get your permission to ask her."

Victoria smiled faintly. "You have my full support Donnie...as long as you don't mind a mother-in-law that hangs around a lot."

"I wouldn't have it any other way."


	68. Overprotective

Around the same time that Donatello was just starting to relax at Victoria's condo, Luke and Marcus were both showing up at their Den underground. Mike emerged from upstairs when he heard their voices, holding his breath just a little bit. The two men were taking a load off with Leonardo and Raphael in the living area.

"So you guys are flying solo tonight? What's the deal with that?" Raphael teased them.

"It's called 'Girl's Night', or something like that." Marcus said with a shrug. "April, Kat, and Jenna are off having fun on their own, so Luke and I just figured we'd get something to eat ourselves. Then we got bored."

"I don't see how you two can get bored so easily." Leo told them. "You should try being stuck underground most of the time."

"You guys have interesting ways of entertaining one another." Luke reminded him.

"Why didn't Vic go?" Raphael asked curiously.

"Don't know." Marc answered. "She had something else going on, I think."

Luke had just noticed Michelangelo hanging around the top of the stairs.

"Hey Mikey, c'mon down, why don't you? We brought food, some good stuff."

He trotted down the stairs, trying to act completely natural.

"Good timing. We had dinner about three hours ago, I think I'm about ready to eat again."

"When have you known _him_ to pass up a morsel?" Raphael snorted.

"You're one to talk Raph." He shot back.

"Where's Donnie, is he working on something?" Marcus asked suddenly.

"Um, no, he was tired." Mike said quickly. "He went to bed awhile ago."

"He did?" Luke said. "Has he been acting okay?"

"Yeah, he's fine Doc, perfectly _fine_."

"It's not like him to go to bed early." Luke said thoughtfully. "Did he say he was feeling alright?"

"He's great Doc, no problems here."

"Hm. Maybe I should go check on him anyway, he's not always forthright about it."

"It's all the way upstairs Doc. Don't worry about it, he really is okay."

The very quality of his tone had changed, a dead give-away to Luke after all these years.

"Michelangelo, _what's _going on?" He demanded.

"Nothing." He squeaked.

* * *

As Donatello was setting down his second cup of coffee, he glanced at his phone as it went off.

_Doc. This could be interesting._

"Hello?" He answered the phone quite innocently.

"Hi Donnie." Luke responded very evenly. "Do you know where I am right now? Want to venture a guess?"

"I'm not any good at that Doc."

"_I'm_ underground. _Where_ the heck are you?"

"I had a little piece of business to take care of."

"Donatello Eugene! I can't _believe_ you left the Den!"

"Doc, you _know_ I don't have a middle name."

"Your first name doesn't sound severe enough! What were you thinking? It's way too cold for you to be traipsing around up there. Do you _want_ to end up back on an IV?"

"I'm sorry Doc. Victoria is going to bring me back around to the van entrance."

"_Now_ would be nice! Wait a second, what are you doing with Vic?"

"We had stuff to talk about. I'm still trying to hammer out the bride price Doc, she's a tough negotiator."

"You went to talk to her about Jenna?"

"Hence getting her out of the condo with the other girls."

"_That's_ a step in the right direction, but I wish you would have told me what you were doing."

"You wouldn't have let me."

"With darn good reason Donnie! I have a strong urge to ground you."

"Doc, I haven't been grounded since I was eleven."

"Just get your shell_ home_."

* * *

He sheepishly ducked through the front door, about half an hour later.

Luke crossed his arms with serious irritation at him. "Donatello, you can't _do_ this. You know I'm only thinking of what's best for you."

"Yeah Doc, I know. I was just tired of waiting, tired of being cooped up."

"I_ understand _that, but you were really sick. C'mon in the Lab for a minute, I want to double-check a couple of things."

Behind the closed door, Donatello tried to assure him again. "Honestly Doc, I'm fine."

"Yeah? How does your throat feel after being in that cold air on_ foot_?"

"It's okay."

"Liar. If I have to start chaining you guys down, that's exactly what I'll do. No more sneaking out, you got me?" He finished a little less angrily.

It was _then _that Donatello saw the hint of vulnerability, that Luke had been fighting to hide from him. The man had never wanted them to see how much he worried about them, especially now. Seeing even the glimmer of fear through his facade, made Donatello feel instantly guilty.

"Doc, I'm sorry." He said quietly. "No more going out, not until you say so. Please don't be upset."

Luke rested his chin in one hand, as he leaned against the table for a moment. "One of the problems with losing something significant in your life, is that you can often be plagued by the fear of losing it _again _Donnie. I know that you _hate_ it when I worry, and maybe I _am _a bit overprotective sometimes. But I don't choose to feel this way, and I can't exactly control it. Your Sensei not being here only seems to intensify that feeling.

When I've had so _many_ opportunities to watch you guys spiral out of control physically, you can hardly blame me, can you?" He ended, trying not to sound quite as serious.

"No Doc, I don't blame you for worrying. We put ourselves in harm's way much too often for me to do that. I know that you feel a kind of role to try and keep us safe, even more so now. But I don't want this to run your _life _either. Sooner or later, you might actually want to return to medicine full time."

"I'll retire when_ you _retire." He retorted, and Donatello shook his head at him.

"Are we fated to be Lab partners forever Doc?"

"It sure seems that way, doesn't it?" Luke replied with a smile, lightly fingering the scanner he'd just used to take Donnie's temperature.

"You're a little hot Donnie." He said reproachfully.

He glanced down to read the screen himself, and shook his head again. "Nah, that's nothing. It was already elevated _before_ I went out."

"You're just digging yourself deeper in the hole, do you realize that? What would you say if one of your _brothers_ had done that?"

"I'd say I was going to kick their shells from here to Texas."

"And what makes _you_ any different?"

"I'm not them?" He offered, then wilting a little under Doc's searing gaze. "Sorry Doc." He repeated.

"You _know_ better. _Now_ I'm going to have to keep an eye on you myself."

"You already have the software." Donnie tried to say lightly.

"I don't particularly like spying on you, but you sure don't give me much of a choice." Luke said, glancing back down at the handheld scanner again. "Do you know how many times I wished that something like this could be introduced to the medical community? It would make such an impact."

"_Take_ it to them Doc, get it patented. There's no reason for us to hoard the technology."

"It isn't _my_ technology."

"Doc, I don't_ exist_, I can't exactly jump through all the legal hoops myself. Would you just take it?"

"I'm not accepting credit for it Donnie."

"_Forget_ about credit. You know good and well what something like this could mean for emergency services. How many times are people forced to wait, not getting the vital scans that they desperately need, just because they're not stable enough to go through the machines? It would put so much more information directly at doctor's fingertips. I _want_ you to do this Doc."

"I'll look into it Donnie - but I'm not putting myself down as the creator. In the meantime, your adventures on the surface have earned you another night's stay in the Lab."

"I suppose I deserve that."


	69. Chase Me

Donatello woke up later that night, after feeling someone's hand just barely graze his forehead. He glanced up at his younger brother, and smiled a little bit.

"Oops. Sorry." Mike said immediately.

"You're alright Mikey. You can go to bed y'know, no reason to sit around here."

"I'm not really tired."

"Just like when we were kids."

"No Donnie, that was _you_." Mike chuckled. "I'm sorry I didn't cover for you very well."

"Forget it Mike, I shouldn't have asked you to. Doc doesn't let us get away with _anything_." He said impishly.

"You're not really gettin' sick all over again, are you?"

"Doc wants to be on the safe side Mike. It _could_ also be his own version of grounding me." Donatello told him, and paused to yawn deeply. "I should have just told him what was going on to begin with, but I didn't _want _any help. I wanted to do it on my own."

"I get that." Mike allowed. "How did it go anyway?"

"I almost broke down, going back over that night Mike. Remembering what it felt like, to think that she was probably _dead_. I think I was clear enough about where I stand though. Vic was really nice about it. That woman is probably one in a million, just as much as Jenna is. Eventually we're probably going to need to let someone else in the club, just so that she can consider being in another relationship."

"I don't know Donnie. I mean, have you ever seen the way _Leo_ looks at her sometimes?"

"Do you have a _clue_ how bad he would kill you for saying that? She's fifteen years older than him."

"As if _that's_ the biggest difference between them?" Mike cracked.

Donatello laughed quietly. "If you value your _life_, you'll keep that to yourself."

Michelangelo noticed him shiver suddenly. "Are you cold Donnie? Do you need another blanket or something?"

"Sure, but you probably ought get Doc too, 'cause I feel like my temp's going up."

* * *

Luke was in the room in what felt like an instant. He didn't even say anything this time, just went straight away to check his levels.

"_Darn_ it Donnie." He said after a moment. "That's _it_, you're getting tetrozine."

"Sorry I messed things up." He mumbled as Doc got to work.

"Going out tonight didn't _help_ you, but it's not the real culprit here either Donnie. You still have bacteria present, and it's started spreading again. That can happen, it's why doctors prescribe medication over a period of _days_, to make sure all the bacteria gets killed. You're just going to be down awhile longer."

"Whatever you say Doc, you won't get any more fighting on my end."

"I'm going to start you pretty heavy here, before you break 103 degrees again. So I guess I'll see you sometime next week." Luke told him tongue-in- cheek.

"Just don't let the others worry about me."

"That's impossible, and you know it."

* * *

It was almost twenty-four hours before he was aware of _anything, _after the medication kicked in. He was only just starting to fight his way back out from underneath the veil, when he heard a familiar _beautiful_ voice. Donatello strained to listen to it, as he tried to force himself to wake up completely.

She didn't seem to be aware of his struggle, her own eyes closed from where she was sitting nearby. He'd yet to open his own, but his other senses were rapidly rallying now. Jenna lapsed into silence after a minute, a little startled when Donatello suddenly looked at her.

"Why'd you stop?" He murmured softly.

"_Hi_," She said, a little relief tinting her voice. "I thought you were _done_ with all this."

"It didn't give me a say in the matter. How long have you been here?"

"A pretty long time Donnie. I was _wondering_ when you'd be back."

He glanced up at the IV, and then back at her. "Yeah, the antibiotic does that to us. Doc put me on the tetrozine this time, hoping to kill this thing _dead_, once and for all."

"I liked you on the other one better."

"I won't even _ask_ what that means."

"Why didn't Doc put you on the antibiotic to start with?"

"Because we avoid using it, if we possibly can. Don't wanna develop an immunity to it."

"You can do that?"

"Mmhm. You take a certain antibiotic too many times, and bacteria can become resistant to it. Then you can develop these _super _bugs, that don't respond to meds at all. What I _need_ to do is get off my shell, and start working on another antibiotic so we can mix it up a bit more."

He took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. "But I probably should shut up now."

"I agree."

"But before I do, what was that song you were singing?"

"Did that melody sound familiar Donnie? It _should_. I put lyrics to 'Night Owls'."

"When did you do _that_?"

"Awhile back. Do you want to hear them?"

He nodded, and she cleared her throat slightly.

"The deepening night, the waning moon

The swift breeze that can bite and heal

The channel strong, the peaceful calm

Remind me what it's like to feel

The stars by night, the break of Dawn

All of these help me to see

The mournful song of days long gone

And yet my mind is stayed on thee

***

My longing grows, heart burns within

Suddenly, I'm feeling weak

***

To see your face, or feel your touch

I'd likely give my tongue to speak

For no words fair, can now compare

To the one my does seek."

He shuddered a little involuntarily, but it wasn't from fever this time.

"You need...to record that." He told her a little hoarsely, trying to swallow back a portion of the emotion. "I love that. I love _you_."

Jenna came down to his level, caressing his cheek lightly. "I love you too. It was hard to be away from you Donnie, those summers I spent back home. Those words came to me shortly after I returned to Australia, right after I'd graduated."

"Why didn't you tell me about it sooner?"

"I don't know. I guess I...I don't always _want _to come off as the aggressor. There are sometimes when I feel like I do most of the chasing here. It's probably why I like you on hydralin _more_." She said with a giggle.

"Okay now, for _real_. That's like the fourth time you've brought that up. What did I _say_ Jen?"

"It wasn't so much what you _said_ Donnie, it was just a nice feeling to have you pursue me, even if you didn't really know what you were doing. There are still girls out there who want to be chased."

"Was I coming on to you?"

"To put it mildly. It was kind of exciting." She answered with a half smile, and he partially buried his head under the blanket.

"Don't be embarrassed. I'm telling you that I_ liked _it Donnie. It brought to mind this image of you picking me up, throwing me over your shoulder, and carrying me out of here."

"Did you tell--"

"No silly, I wouldn't do that. I just told Marc that you didn't want to shut up for awhile."

He seemed to relax a little again, a different look altogether entering his dark eyes. "You wanna be _chased_ huh?"

"By you? Of course I do."

"Can you do me a favor real quick? Go over to the desk, and get into that bottom drawer on the left. There's a little bag in there, will you bring it here?"

"Yeah, sure." She said a little mystified, and went to retrieve it for him.

"What is it Donnie?"

"Something I got for you. I've had it for weeks."

"You know I don't like you spending your money on me like that."

"Yeah I do...but I thought that the ring that I got you for your 21st birthday might be getting a little old."

She looked slightly horrified. "Donnie, I _love_ this ring! I'll never take it off."

"But you might want to Jen, when you see this other one."

She sighed with a little huff. "You may as well _show_ me what you did."

He pulled the velvet box out of the bag, and held it up to her. "See it for yourself."

With a hint of irritation clinging, she took it from him, jaw dropping slightly when she saw the diamond. "Is this...are you..."

"I am." He said swiftly. "I've wanted to ask you this for awhile. Jenna Nicole, I love you, and I know now that I always _will_. Will you marry me?"

"Yes."

"You don't have to be so quick, you can have time to--"

"Yes."

"But there are a lot of things to consider, so--"

"Yes!"

"I'm just saying that--"

"Donnie would you _be_ quiet? I said _yes_!" She finally ordered him, shoving him back firmly against the mattress so that she could kiss him deeply.

He laughed as she crawled up completely beside him. "I thought you wanted _me_ to be the aggressor." He said.

"You're too slow."


	70. Get Away

* Just a couple more chapters to go guys, followed by a little preview for my next venture, "Manhunt". Keep an eye out for it, 'cause it's coming soon to a website near you.

(Two Weeks Later)

* * *

"Mike, if you ain't down here in _two _minutes, we're leavin' without you!" Raphael called up the staircase, shaking his head in irritation to his other brother close by him. "I swear Leo, we don't even havta worry about all the clothes, what could he_ possibly _be doing?"

"You've got me Raph." Leo shrugged, and then turned to answer the knock at the door.

April was waiting on the other side. "Hey, are you guys ready?"

"_We_ are." Leonardo said impishly. "Just waiting on--"

"MIKEY! Get _down_ here!" Raphael interrupted, calling louder after he caught sight of April.

Michelangelo appeared at the top of the stairs, grinning down at his older brother. "What's the big rush for Raph? The mountains ain't going anywhere."

"You're holding everybody up!" Raphael retorted angrily.

"Sorry, I'm coming." He answered, swiftly yanking a duffel bag over his shoulder.

"Where's _your_ stuff?" April asked the other two.

"It's already in the Avalanche. We came back to speed _him_ along." Leonardo explained.

"Well, are we gonna stand here gabbing, or are we gonna hit the road?" Mike asked them, and Raphael captured him in a firm headlock.

"You're just _begging_ for a shell kickin' bro. One foot in front of the other, and let's _go_."

* * *

When they arrived at the van entrance, Marc had pulled his Avalanche further up beside their van. He and Luke were both leaning against it, obviously waiting for them.

"What _took _you so long?" Marcus asked with a grin.

"Ask _Pokey_ here." Raphael growled, and headed for the driver's side door.

"It would be nice to leave _before_ the sun comes up." Luke commented.

"Bro, go throw your stuff in the back of Marc's car, that's where we're stowing everything except the cat." Leo instructed him.

"Tiger doesn't want a scenic view?" Mike laughed.

"It was hard enough getting Raph to let us put her in the carrying case. She goes with us. Now hurry up."

Luke climbed into the passenger seat beside Raphael, just as Leonardo was getting into the back of the van, where Donatello and Jenna were already waiting.

"I'm not _interrupting_ anything right?" He teased as he came under the door.

"It's not like we're doin' something every time we're alone." Donatello protested.

"I'm just making sure. You know, Mike and I _could_ ride in the Avalanche, I think Marc could fit a small plane in there."

"Don't worry Leo, if we wanted to make out, we'd let you know in advance." Jenna said with a wink.

"_Please_ let that be the end of your speech." He groaned.

"You started it bro." Donnie laughed, throwing both arms around Jenna's waist. "Don't worry though, we won't make you feel like the third wheel."

"Yeah, _I'll _be the third wheel Leo, and you can be the _fourth_." Mike volunteered as he climbed in behind him.

"If you two are going to try and tease us the whole way, we might just _give_ you something to tease us about." Donatello threatened.

"Don't get my hopes up Donnie." Jenna remarked.

"We're shutting up now." Leonardo said quickly.

"How long is it supposed to take to get there Donnie?" Mike asked him.

"A few hours. _You're_ the one who's been there before Mikey. If you start asking me how much longer every twenty minutes, you're not allowed to talk at _all_."

"Geez, I can't tease you, I can't ask how long it is...what am I supposed to _do_ the whole time?"

"You could try to avoid getting on our last nerve." Leo suggested.

"Where's the fun in that?"

"You know, there _is_ still room in the Avalanche for him." Leonardo directed towards Donnie and Jenna.

But a moment later, the van was already moving.

"Too _late _Fearless, now you're stuck with me." Mike told him with a rather demented smile.

* * *

They talked to each other almost non-stop for the first two and a half hours, sounding like school boys who'd just been released for summer vacation. Further into the trip they finally started settling down, just enough to try dozing for awhile.

Donatello and Jenna were quietly conversing barely above whispers, trying to keep from disturbing Leo and Mike.

"You guys are so darn cute. I don't think I've ever seen _all _of you this excited at once before." She told him.

"We're being turned loose for awhile, it's like receiving a 'get out of jail free' card."

"Is that the only reason _you're_ excited?" She teased a little bit.

"No, in my case I've got a little _more_ reason." He said with a wry smile. "I'm_ marryin' _you."

"Couple more days. Are you ready for this?"

"More than ready. I just wish..."

"I know." She finished for him. "Me too."

"I'm sorry, I still don't feel right saying anything. It's got to be harder on _you_."

"Don't minimize it Donnie, you're allowed to wish your Sensei were here. This is going to be a bit bittersweet for all of us, no sense in pretending otherwise."

She rested her forehead against his for a moment, and he kissed her lightly.

"Sometimes I still feel like I need to pinch myself to be sure that you're actually here." He told her.

She kissed him back, and then actually pinched his wrist slightly.

"Hey." He reprimanded softly.

"Are you convinced yet?"

He tried to hold in the laugh as much as possible, lightly flicking her shoulder, before getting serious again.

"I'm convinced that I'm love with you. And I'm ready to be with you."

* * *

"Hey love-birds, wake up."

Donatello opened one eye to see his younger brother standing over him, and Jenna still asleep on his own shoulder.

"What's up Mike?" He asked quietly.

"We've got mountains." Mike answered. "Raph's gonna pull over for a minute. It's still dark, but you can see a pretty good way, according to him and Luke."

Donatello leaned over to kiss Jenna's forehead, and woke her up completely.

"Is it morning?" She asked with a stretch.

"Not quite babe, but we're pulling over. We're about to get into the mountains, it'd be nice to stretch our legs anyway."

The three brothers climbed out of the back, and Donatello surprised Jenna by sweeping her out of the van in a swift motion. He spun her around for a second before setting her on the ground, as she was giggling the whole time.

Marc's Avalanche pulled up behind them, and their other friends piled out to meet them. Jenna met Victoria with a quick embrace, as everyone reunited by the overlook of the valley. Leo thumped Raphael's shoulder in a friendly manner.

"How are you doing bro, are you tired?" Leo asked him.

"I'm okay. Pretty much ready to get there though. We have a ways to climb yet, but Doc said we should make it before sun-up."

"Why don't you come to the back, let me take the wheel for this last bit?"

"You don't have to Leo."

"I've got it. C'mon, you could get a couple of winks."

"Well...twist my arm." Raphael said with a grin. "Okay Leo, she's all yours."

"When did you decide that the van was a _she_?"

"I dunno, it just fits her. How's Tiger doing back there?"

"Oh, we let her out a couple of times. She's fine, she was curled up with me for awhile. I put her back in the case before we got out."

Luke and Kat met over by the railing, with a beautiful kiss of their own.

"Can't tell you how much I've been looking forward to this." She told him, entwining both of her hands through his.

"I have too. Next up is California...how do you feel about _that_?"

"I'm ready to take you home Luke. I'm sure my brother wants to have 'the talk' with you. Are you ready for _that_?"

"I've faced down worse." He said lightly.

Marcus sat down on a bench for a minute, and April nestled against him, shivering just a little.

"Are you tired of driving?" She asked him.

"That's the tenth time you've asked me that." He commented.

"I just want to make sure."

"I'm good. It feels _great _to get out of that city. Sometimes I think I spend too much time at that hospital. I must say there are times I get a little jealous of Luke, coming and going as he pleases." He finished a little jokingly. "But then, it would be hard to walk away from."

"You shouldn't." April said seriously. "You're incredible at what you do, you get to _fix_ a lot of people. But you _could_ stand to take a little more time off."

"Look who's talking." He teased.

"Now don't get me started _Dr. _Sloan."


	71. Sunrise

Leonardo took the wheel up front with Luke after that, now feeling wide awake for the last forty minutes they still needed to go up the mountain.

"Tell me about this place Doc." He requested. "How secure are we actually going to be up here?"

"I chose it for a _reason_ Leo, you know I wouldn't put you guys in any danger. It's the only chalet on this particular mountain, usually caters to the rich and or famous. With the right cash up front, along with Vic and Kat's _security_ clearance, I got the place emptied out."

"I'm not even going to _ask_ how much that cost." Leonardo muttered.

"It's irrelevant. Don't say anything to your brother."

"He's bound to ask Doc."

"I told 'im it was my wedding gift to them - he doesn't need to know anything else."

"There's seriously not gonna be anybody there, no staff, _nothing_? How did you swing that?"

"Our girls have _powerful _friends...meaning so do we." Luke replied with a wry smile. "Try to _enjoy_ yourself these next five days Leo. You guys deserve it more than anyone I know."

* * *

The others dozed slightly in the back of the van, until it came to a short stop. Mike was the first to rouse, already on his feet when there was a knock at the back door. Luke opened it a second later, grinning when he saw him.

"Up, get _up_ you guys. We're here, and you're not going to believe this." Luke encouraged them.

Raphael was a little slow to rise, ducking out into the daybreak a few seconds after his brothers and Jenna had climbed out. He took in the sight of the rising sun, just barely becoming visible over distant mountains. There were no real words to describe the vision of surrounding country-side, bathed in the first light of the day. Everyone else was already taking it in, without saying a single word either.

Donatello had an arm lightly around Jenna, and she glanced away from the valley to see an indiscernable look in his eyes. It actually looked like he could be tearing up.

"Don?" She said softly, and he smiled slightly in her direction.

"Sorry. You have no idea what this feels like. We live our _entire_ lives essentially in a cage, with only flashes of freedom. Being here, right now, it feels like I've stepped inside of some movie. Like I could blink, and find out that none of it is actually in front of me."

She squeezed his hand tightly. "Blink all you want Donnie. Every bit of it is real."

* * *

Luke led everyone inside with the proper pass-codes, and stopped by the security booth by himself first, just to be certain that the cameras were really _off_. The turtles were clearly a little overwhelmed as they hesitated inside the cavernous lounge, all staring up at the seemingly endless ceiling as if it were the most fascinating thing they'd ever seen.

"Geez Doc, are you bankrupt yet?" Donatello asked him.

"You're not supposed to ask money questions, remember?" Luke reminded him. "That was the agreement."

"Yeah, yeah..." He trailed off for a second, and then looked around the rest of the lobby. "Okay, what now?"

Victoria came up on his right with a beatific smile. "We get settled in."

"The best rooms are all on the seventh floor." Luke told them. "I had a very detailed virtual tour. Shall we?"

Luke showed them upstairs first, so that everyone could get into rooms before doing anything else.

As Donatello and Michelangelo ducked into one of them, Mike gave his brother a playful shove.

"You _sure_ you don't wanna room with Jenna bro?"

"That can wait a couple more days. After all, you're not going to have me in the same room at all for very much longer."

"They grow up so fast." Mike teased. "I'll be happy to relinquish you to my new sis."

* * *

Their next step was the third floor, where Luke had told them nearly all the amenities were located. By the time Donnie and Mike had come down to take a look at the huge indoor pool underneath graceful skylights, Leo and Raph were already competing in laps.

"I thought Raph was _tired_." Donatello remarked.

"I think sleepin' is sort of out the window for all of us right now, don't you?" Mike told him, as he slipped out of his own belt. "You wanna?" He asked, motioning toward the water.

"Do you mind if I join you later? I was kind of wanting to catch up with Jen."

"Course not bro - we got some great days ahead of us. Just don't make yourself _too_ scarce." He said with a wink, and took a running leap toward the pool.

* * *

Donatello called Jenna's cell-phone to figure out where she was, and then ran down to the lobby to meet her.

"Are you sure you want to go now? You're not too tired?" She asked him when he reached her.

"I can sleep later - it's not worth wasting the time right now."

"Where do you want to go?"

"Like it matters? I just want to be outside with _you_." Donatello said with a wide smile.

The two of them found a hiking trail easily, located not far from the parking lot of the chalet itself. They immediately started to descend into the tree-line, eyes and ears alert for the sights and sounds around them. Jenna kept glancing at him as they walked, enjoying the beaming smile that he didn't seem to able to get rid of.

"You're going out of your mind right now, aren't you?" She laughed, and he caught her in an embace from behind.

"Between _you_ and this...it really couldn't get much better." He replied.

She turned around to face him, leaning to his level so she could kiss him.

"You haven't seen _anything_ yet babe." She informed him playfully.

They decided not to travel too far from the chalet on this trip, turning back about thirty minutes after their hike had begun. On their way back up the slope, Donatello had lapsed into silence, and Jenna found herself drawn to his expression again.

"What's going on in there?" She asked knowingly.

"Memories." He said wistfully. "Something my Sensei told me, feels like eternity ago."

****

Donatello had been lying in that bed in the Lab, staring at the same particular place on the wall for about an hour, before his Sensei approached him.

"My son?" He said questioningly.

Donatello glanced over at his Master, immediately straightening up a little bit. "Hi Sensei."

The rat lowered himself into a chair beside him, casting him one of his famous probing glances, that always seemed to see right through someone.

"Do you want to talk?" Splinter asked him.

"About what Sensei? My knee? Leo? Jenna?"

"All of the above, if you prefer. Which is bothering you the most at this moment?"

"It's a toss-up." He muttered tiredly, looking purposefully away from his Sensei. "I told Leo I wanted to forget all about this, but it's not so easy to _do_. I'm not _mad _at him Sensei, but I don't know how to act either. And Jenna..."

"Yes, what _about_ Jenna my son?"

"I don't completely know how to act around _her_ either. I feel like I'm living in a pipe-dream, that's bound to end sooner or later. She _wants _to hear that I love her Sensei, but I almost feel like that would be...stringing her along."

"Because you do not love her, or because you do not believe that it can _work_?"

Donatello took a few seconds in answering. "_Can_ it Master? Can it really?"

"Donatello, you are faced with many obstacles in this life - more so than most living creatures could imagine. Some obstacles are physical, while others like this one, are based more upon your own feelings and emotions.

It's as if you have already played out the scenario in your own mind, attempting to predict the future before it can come true. I cannot tell you if it will work my son. But I _can _say for absolute certain that if you back away merely out of fear of the unknown, you will always be unsatisfied. It may be easier to maintain your own perceived sense of control over the situation, but then you would never know the joy that comes of simple spontaneity."

****

"How did your Sensei get to be so smart?" Jenna asked Donatello, smiling as he took her hand to pull her over a massive tree root.

"I hope I figure that out someday Jen."


	72. Scars I Carry

Donatello and Jenna spent a few minutes exploring the chalet when they got back, leaving no floor left unturned.

"Can I show you something?" Jenna asked him after a few minutes had passed, with a bit of a seductive smile.

"Uh...okay." He said just a little nervously, as he followed her back to the elevator. "Where are we going?"

"The seventh floor."

"You and your Mom got settled in too, didn't you?"

"Yeah, we're all in the same bank of suites in that section Donnie. I wanna show you something _else_. The girls pulled me aside to point it out to me, before I met you downstairs."

She led the way off the elevator, taking his arm lightly in her grasp. As they walked down the tiled hallway, she glanced over her shoulder at him with one of those looks that still had the power to make him feel weak at the knees. Jenna stopped abruptly after they'd gone a few more paces, opening the door to a room in a section further away from where they were already unpacked.

"I just wanted to give you a preview babe." She told him.

"A preview of...whoa!" He interrupted himself when he caught a full glimpse of the suite. As nice as the others were down the hall, this one was much more surprising.

He held his breath slightly as she guided him inside the room, a suite at least twice the size of the others he'd already been inside of. The canopied bed was flanked in a material, softer than anything he'd ever felt before. He could hardly keep himself from touching everything in sight, as he worked his way slowly across the room. He felt the coolness of the marble, the texture of leather, the soft give of Persian underneath his feet, and stopped for a long moment to stare out the french doors leading to the balcony.

Then he suddenly realized that he hadn't said anything for a couple of minutes, and turned to look back at his fiance.

"People really live like this?" He asked quietly.

"Some of 'em do. Usually the intrigue of a new hotel room is pretty lost on me, I've been in so many of them. But even _this_ one made me slow down Donnie. And in a couple of days, it's all gonna be _ours_, if you follow me."

He laughed. "Yeah...I think I do. I'm really going to have to find some way to thank Luke for all this. It's mind blowing."

She pulled him back to the oversized leather chair, resting a finger lightly over his mouth.

"Stop it. You deserve this, and you don't owe _anybody_,_ anything_. What would make Luke happiest, is to see you having a good time, and forgetting about everything else outside here, just for awhile."

He smiled in resignation. "Okay. No more talk like that. It's not really worth wasting the breath, is it?"

"Nope. So you like it, huh?"

He snorted in response. "Think about who you're talking to Jen. This is _almost_ the most amazing thing I've ever seen."

"Almost?" She asked with raised eyebrows, and he gave her a knowing smile.

"Yeah Jen, almost. Call it a distant second."

"A distant second to _what_ Donnie?" She asked playfully.

"To the most amazing woman I've ever seen...and the fact that she's in love with me."

The sudden insecurity in her eyes baffled him. In all of the years he'd known Jenna, he had never once seen her look as vulnerable as she did at that exact moment.

"Jen, what is it? What's wrong? Did I say something, or--"

"No babe, it's not your fault. I'm just getting hit with the nerves all of a sudden." She answered.

"Are you not ready Jenna? We don't _have_ to rush, I told you that."

"Not nerves over being with you Donnie, I don't have any hesitation over that. I'm having anxiety over _myself_."

"Jen, what on earth do you mean?"

"I know that you carry around this picture of me, as some kind of ideal 'perfect' woman..." She slowly trailed off. "And I'm not Donatello, far from it."

"I know that you're not _really_ perfect Jen, nobody is. What's actually bothering you right now?"

"Don, you know all about my emotional scars, I've been baring them to you for years. But I carry around _physical_ ones in my body too...that no one aside from a couple of doctors have ever seen. I never assumed that it would make you _love_ me any less, but psychologically, this kind of injury does things to you Donatello. And no matter how much you recover, or how nice things seem to be on the surface, it can leave one feeling like _less _of a woman.

I'm not even afraid so much of what you might think, except that I...didn't want you to be disappointed. You mean the _world_ to me Donnie. I can _be_ who I am with you. I'm just feeling a bit more nervous than I thought I would." She admitted with a long breath.

Donatello's dark eyes seemed clouded over as he pulled her closer to him this time, and she sensed the extreme tension in his muscles.

"I can't begin to tell you how angry that makes me feel inside. That _anyone_ would hurt you that way, over and over...and then just go on their merry way. And it's not _fair_. They use you, abuse you...and _you_ have to pay the price for it, for the rest of your life."

He guided her chin to look up at him, lightly wiping her tears away.

"Jen, you're in a _safe_ place here. There's nothing I can do about your past. But as far as the future is concerned...if you're willing to let me, I'll spend the rest of our lives, convincing you of how beautiful you really are. You couldn't disappoint me, not even remotely. And we can take things as slowly as we need to...I'm not in a hurry. Just being _close_ to you, is better than anything I could have ever imagined in this life. I love you, so much...and I'll _never_ stop telling you how beautiful you are, on the inside and the outside."

Jenna didn't say anything for a long time, simply resting against him on the chair. In his strong arms was so much assurance, a quiet strength that seemed to infuse from them, directly to every single part of her as she let tears continue to fall. She finally turned just enough so that she could kiss him deeply, following it immediately with two more.

He didn't say anything either, simply quietly held her as she gave full vent to the emotion that had been bottled up inside her for her own inadequacies. Nearly half an hour had passed with neither of them speaking or moving more than a couple of inches.

When her light blue eyes made contact with his gaze again, there was a softness in them, an open adoration that could have melted him where he sat.

"Thank you." She whispered, as though she were breaking the spell that had been cast over the two of them. "I've never told anyone, how the physical remnants make me feel. I was so afraid...and there _aren't_ many things that I let frighten me anymore Donnie. Through the years I had become _hard_, I thought I had to in order to be strong, to keep on living. I lived under the intention that _nobody_ was ever going to hurt me again, not if I had any say in the matter whatsoever.

Then I met _you_, and everything that I _thought _I knew about the world I lived in, got turned completely upside down. A day doesn't go by, but that I'm grateful I got kidnapped Donnie. Imagining going back to the way things were before...I don't even want to _think_ about it. It scares me to even consider where I _could_ be right now.

You always look at me, like _I'm _the amazing one, _I'm_ the one who constantly has to 'stoop to your level'. Donnie, you set me_ free_. I was in a prison, locked inside my own mind, my memories. And I couldn't find my way out. Victoria and Michael, with _all_ their love...they couldn't open that door either. And I didn't know how to let them in, even though I trusted them, even though I wanted to.

I was_ lost _until I found you. And now...though you probably still won't believe it yourself, to me, you're the most beautiful creature on the face of the earth. And you're the _only_ one that I ever want to be with. I'm ready for that Donnie. I'm ready to share myself with you completely, and I don't wanna wait. I don't need more time.

So when we come back to this room, a couple of days from now, after we've _promised_ to each other...we _will_ be one. And you'll be able to call me the happiest woman alive, and one who is completely _satisfied_."


	73. Guy Time

"Mikey, are you seriously gonna eat_ all _those marshmallows yourself?" Raphael asked his younger brother incredulously.

"Relax Raph, I brought four more bags." Mike assured him.

"How long do you think we're going to be_ out _here Mike?" Marcus asked him.

"You haven't seen the way Mikey makes smores. He has to set at least half the bag on fire before he's satisfied." Leonardo remarked.

"Did anyone ever teach you that_ faster _isn't always _better_?" Luke scolded Mike lightly, stealing one of the bags of marshmallows from his side. "I'll make my _own_, thank you very much."

"A little scorching never hurt anybody." Donatello protested. "That's half the fun of it. Load me up _pyromaniac_."

"I'm all set for you Donnie. Extra toasty, or burned to a crisp?" Mike cracked.

"You know how I like 'em."

"You could just save yourself some time Mike, and chuck the _whole_ bag into the fire at once." Raphael told him.

"Melted plastic don't taste too good bro." Mike grinned.

"No, I meant for you to take them out of the---_ah_ forget it. Let's just get on with the ritual sacrifice."

"I knew you'd see it my way." Mike chortled, yanking a stick of inferno marshmallows out of the fire. He quickly blew them out, and glanced over at Donatello with a wide smell. "Ready!"

"Nobody does it like you Mikey."

"Can we _stop _talking about the dumb smores now?" Raphael complained.

"What's the matter Raph, you didn't get your nap today?" Luke teased him.

"Nah, he's just grumpy 'cause he wants to get Tiger out of that crate back in the room." Leonardo announced.

"How would _you_ like to be locked up in a cage for over four hours at a time?" Raphael demanded. "I _told _you I coulda brought her out here."

"Do you really want to risk your cat running off into the Adirondacks Raph?" Marcus asked him.

"Tiger wouldn't do that, she knows where her bread is buttered. That cat ain't going anywhere." Raphael said stoically.

"I asked Jen to let her out, so you can stop worrying Raph." Donnie told him. "C'mon, we're supposed to be having fun out here. It's an _experience_."

"Is gettin' eaten alive part of the experience?" Raphael grumbled, and then winced almost immediately. "Sorry. It's hard to turn it off sometimes."

Raphael let out a deep breath, and adjusted his position so that he would be staring into the sky. "Doc, this is by far the _coolest_ thing we've ever gotten to do before. Thanks for making it possible."

The doctor smiled, shifting to join him in his star-gazing. "It _is_ something else, isn't it? It's easy to take for granted, until I start hanging out with you guys. You know, there's no reason we couldn't try something like this again."

"Sure Doc, and you'll be broke in about two years." Mike called over to him.

"Obviously, we can't do _this_ all the time. But we could still come back out here, find someplace remote. It's not healthy for you guys to be cooped up underground all the time. I don't know how you haven't all killed each other."

"We've tried a few times, if you recall." Leonardo said dryly, and then cast Donatello a small smile. "But at the end of the day, we're brothers...and things get worked out."

* * *

They spent well over three hours around the bonfire that night, before heading back to the chalet. Upstairs there was raucous laughter coming from Jenna and Victoria's suite, and the guys couldn't help but pause outside to listen.

"What do you 'spose they're doing in there?" Mike wondered aloud.

"I betcha they're _not _setting marshmallows on fire." Raph told him, rubbing a knuckle over the back of his younger brother's head.

"They don't know what they're missing."

As they headed toward separate rooms, Leonardo suddenly called Donatello back to him.

"I um...I have something for you."

"What is it Fearless?"

Leonardo held out an envelope wordlessly, and Donnie tore it open curiously. When he saw the familiar flowing script, his breath caught in his throat.

"Leo, is this..."

"Sensei wanted me to give it you, when the time was right. I've been waiting and thinking...and I thought this was probably it."

"I'm uh...I'm gonna go." Donatello said mechanically. "I'll see you in the morning."

"G'night Donnie."

* * *

By the time Donatello walked back into their bedroom, Mike had already started the gas log fireplace.

"Hey bro, I though that we could..." He cut off slowly when he saw his brother's expression. "Donnie, what's the matter?"

"Leo just gave this to me. It's from Sensei." He answered quietly.

"Oh, uh...I can leave Donnie, I don't havta--"

"No, it's okay Mikey. Just give me few minutes here to get through this, alright?"

Donatello lowered himself into a chair near the mantle, carefully unfolding the paper again, smoothing it lightly to work out the creases.

_***_

_My beloved son -_

_How much I longed to see this day with my own eyes, to witness your joy finally being made complete. But with my own time running short, I am reduced to this, a mere paper and pen to tell you all the things that a father is __supposed__ to say when a son is committing to his only love. Time is such an odd thing. Sometimes it seems to pass so very slowly, as if the seconds themselves are barely ticking by. Other, it flies by so quickly that you can hardly take a moment to stop and catch your breath._

_Many take the clock for granted, letting months and years pass without ever relishing in them, appreciating what they held in store. Then the happy days seem to race into the distance, while the difficult dark ones drag on, as though they will literally never end. But to everything there is a season my son. You will have your share of difficult days ahead. And you will have many more filled with more wonder than you even think you can contain right now._

_For when you give yourself truly to another, and learn what it means to become one flesh, then you will have some understanding of one of the world's greatest mysteries. How is it that two people can truly be made one? That I cannot really explain to you, but to say that you will become a part of her, as she becomes verily a part of you._

_You have found what is of true value in this life Donatello, and for a long time, you've been afraid to accept it for what it is. I __always __believed deep within that you would see it through to the end, that you wouldn't permit fear alone to dissuade you. Neither let it dissuade you in the days ahead. Never question your decision, as if you are somehow holding Jenna captive against her will. She __chose__ you Donatello, you my son who are so much stronger than you really believe that you are._

_For years you have striven to be what you thought was acceptable, uncomfortable in your differences. I can honestly rest much easier now, knowing that much of that former shame that you bore is dead. Do not ever allow it to take hold of you again, or admit the lie back into your heart that you are not worth enough to have the woman that you love. Always remember where your worth really comes from. Never shrink back because of fear. I cannot, and do not expect you to never feel fear. Yet do not hesitate in pushing through it, instead of relinquishing._

_I love you my son, and I truly believe in you, as does your family __and__ friends. Remember to believe in __yourself__._

_****_

Donatello let out a deep breath after a moment longer, resting his head against the back of the chair.

"Are you okay?" Mike asked timidly.

"I think I will be Mikey. I think I will be."


	74. Complete

***It may sound cheesy, but I have to dedicate Sacrifice to Mikell. Without her constant reviews and positive feedback, this story would never have lasted this long, or gone the places that it has been. Thanks for all the inspiration.**

* * *

Late morning the next day, Donatello trotted down the hall to knock on the door of Jenna and her Mom's suite. Victoria was the one who answered it, and the moment she saw him, she immediately stepped out into the hallway, and shut the door tightly behind her.

"What are you doing here? Just _back_ your shell up. Don't you know it's bad luck?" She asked firmly.

"Yeah, I get it, I just...is she wearing any real jewelry today?"

"You know that she doesn't go in for much 'fanciness' Donnie, I think she wanted to keep things pretty simple. Now shoo, get away from here. You'll see Jenna soon enough."

"Vic wait, will you just give this to her for me?" He requested, setting the silver medallion into her palm.

The woman stopped for a second to ponder the engraving of the moon, and ran her finger over the tiny sapphire stars. She had rarely seen Jenna without in her earlier days, before she'd given the medallion to Donatello to keep.

"I thought that she might like to wear it, today of all days, it being from her dad and all. Will you give it to her?"

Victoria closed her fist around the medallion, and nodded a little emotionally.

"I'll see you guys in awhile." Donatello told her, and finally turned to go.

* * *

The guys were outside on the ground of the chalet, long before the women were ready. Donatello had been staring out into the overlooking valley for several minutes, before all three of his brothers came to join him.

"You alright Donnie?" Leonardo asked him, and he cast all three of them a smile.

"Yeah, I'm good."

"Nervous?" Raphael asked him.

"No, just kind of anxious. I_ think _there's a difference."

"There _is_ Donnie." Leo assured him. "Things are going to be okay, you know that right? I know you've been worried that this might _change_ some things with all of us. It _will_ bring some changes, but we're all game. We love you, and we love Jenna. We want you guys to be together. And anything that we can ever do to help you...you know we'll be right there."

"You're still gonna be our _brother_." Mike piped up, and Donatello cast an arm over his shoulder fondly.

"It _has_ been on my mind. I'm going to have to put her first, you know how that works. But as far as anything else, I don't want_ out _of the group. And she doesn't want me to give any of it up either, she's told me that a number of times. She'd probably rather I was a little more _careful_...but she understands and appreciates what we do in New York."

"Yeah well, we won't let her soften ya up _too_ much genius." Raphael cracked to him. "We'll keep you going in the ring, reminding you what a tough shell you still have. Don't think you're ever getting out of that."

* * *

Another twenty minutes passed, before they saw the women starting to come out of the chalet. Donatello straightened upright, heart pounding just a little bit faster as they came closer to them. It wouldn't be a traditional ceremony by anyone's standards. There was no minister to officiate, no fathers present for either son or daughter. But the circle of brothers and friends around him felt tighter than any bond he'd ever experienced previous to that moment.

The late afternoon sun spilled over the landscape, a breeze slightly picking up across the trees, causing them to sway and rustle around them. Jenna had purposefully hung back behind the other women, not wanting to reveal herself to anyone too soon, but Donatello most of all.

It was hard for him to stay rooted in one spot and simply wait for her; he felt like he was holding all of his breath just to keep him in that fixed place.

She approached directly into their midst, a more radiant vision than he could have possibly imagined. He had a brief flashback in that moment, of seeing her the night of the Ball, the night before the UN was attacked. The night that he had intended on ending things all together. She had looked more beautiful than he'd ever seen her before, but the girl he'd seen briefly in the alley that night, somehow didn't compare to the woman walking toward him right now.

Her jet black hair was loose, the way she knew he'd always loved it the most, now in curly tendrils over her shoulders. Small yellow and white blossoms were weaved through it, almost giving her the appearance of wearing a circlet. It took a few moments for him to be able to escape her face, and merely take in the rest of her. The satin white dress she wore was overlaid with silver lining, in delicate designs over the entire bodice. It flowed all the way to her feet, where he suddenly noticed for the first time that she wasn't wearing any shoes.

She gave him a shy smile when she saw him looking down there, and shrugged lightly.

_She __did__ always like to be comfortable. Angels don't need shoes anyway, do they?_

When Jenna stopped a few inches from him, he reached out a finger to graze her father's medallion around her neck, enjoying the way the afternoon sun played off of the surface of it.

"Thank you." She said quietly, the first audible words that had been uttered in over three minutes. "It means a lot to me."

"I know it does." He answered, lightly smoothing a wind-swept curl off of her face. Then he glanced at Leonardo who was standing in front of them, nodding ever so slightly.

"The law of the land can't recognize this union," Leonardo said slowly. "But that doesn't take _away _from what it signifies. In the 'real world', men and women apply for a marriage license, and go through this whole process to be married according to rules that have been laid out for them. It's not that we want to speak against a legal marriage...ya'll _know_ we're all for that." He said a little comically, breaking out of character to glance at Luke and Kat for a moment.

"It's simply a luxury that none of _us_ can afford." Leonardo started again. "But what Donatello and Jenna _do_ have, is something profound, much deeper than any piece of paper could ever say about them. They love each other. Not the kind of love where five months from now, they'll already be tired of looking at one another across the breakfast table. But something that will go to any length, any distance, any depth. It's been tested, it's been tried, over and over again. And not only has it remained, it has deepened, increased.

We're witnesses of a miracle. The greatest of which, is _not _the fact that a human would desire to be unified with one of our own. But of a love that has endured, sometimes struggled, but _never_ given up. We stand behind you to support you, to help you, to encourage you. We might have pushed you a little along the way..._Donnie_." Leonardo said a little pointedly, causing everyone to laugh out loud.

"But no one forced you. Through your mutual choice, you have come to this place, to the very brink of a new chapter, a new adventure. No one knows what the future holds for you, or what lies under the next sunset. But you're promising to each other today, that no matter what happens, you'll be facing it together." Leonardo said, and then lightly touched Donatello's shoulder to get his attention off of Jenna for a brief moment.

"Do you promise yourself forever to Jenna, to love her, protect her, and think of her, before you even think of yourself?"

Donatello couldn't keep the beam from rising with his words. " I do."

"Jenna, do you promise yourself to Donatello, to love him, guard him, and to think of him before yourself?" Leonardo continued.

"I _do_." She answered firmly.

"I have no power invested in me by any state or law. But as witnesses we recognize your union as real and authentic. God has brought you together...may nothing else drive you apart." Leonardo stated.

Donatello met Jenna in a kiss - far from the deepest either of them had ever shared. But it sent an ocean of emotions flooding over him so hard, that he actually trembled as he stared into her light blue eyes,

_This is what it feels like._


	75. Sneak Peek

*And now, as promised, here is an exclusive sneak peek of my next fiction in the working, "Manhunt". Nothing is ever as easy as it seems.

* * *

Luke was _more_ than a little weary. He had stayed the extra two hours because they needed him to, regardless of the fact that he'd already been there _twelve_. Now that the ER was finally full staffed again, he could gladly escape. He hadn't considered crashing at the hospital, even though he was already so tired. It would probably have caused him to miss his wife in the morning, something he _really_ didn't want to do with her leaving on assignment for the FBI in a few short hours. She was already bummed enough that he'd been called in to work at _all_.

With coffee in one hand and cell-phone in the other, Luke approached the elevator towards the parking garage. There were no other souls in sight, with the exception of a lone gentleman who had been a few paces behind him as he came out of the automatic hospital doors. He had caught up somewhat, and got onto the elevator along with Luke, nodding slightly in response to his polite smile.

Luke took that moment to touch base with Katherine, something she'd always insisted that he do no matter what time he left the hospital.

"Hi hon. Yeah, I'm just leaving_ now_, they needed me for awhile longer. No, I'm okay, just tired. " He chuckled lightly at her next statement. "I don't know if I'm too tired for _that,_ I guess you'll have to wait up for me and find out. I'm about to get off on my level. I'll grab my car, and be home after that, okay? Mm, that sounds _interesting_. I'll be there soon, don't let me miss anything." He teased lightly, hanging up just as he stepped off of the elevator.

The other man got off behind him, but Luke was no longer paying any attention to him. He walked briskly towards the Physician's parking where he'd left his Volvo, eager to get back home to his beautiful wife.

He hesitated slightly in his stride as the hair on the back of his neck seemed to stand on end, and a wave of unexplainable nervousness crashed over him. Luke started to glance over his shoulder, stopping dead in his tracks when something hard jammed into his back. He still had his cell-phone in a death-grip, as the man behind him raised his weapon to press it against the back of his skull.

"Give it _here_ Doctor." The stranger ordered directly into his ear, and Luke surrendered the cell-phone.

"What do you want?" Luke asked with as flat a tone as possible.

"I wanna get out of here, and now that I have _you_, that can finally happen. Walk this way now, if you try _anything,_ you're a dead man."

"What do you _want_?" Luke repeated more strongly than before, but allowed the gunman to guide him for the moment.

"You'll find out soon enough Barrows, it ain't up to me to spoil all the surprises."

Luke was doing some fast reasoning on his own. The man clearly knew who he _was_, and needed to get him somewhere else, which indicated the fact that he needed him _alive_. It also meant that the stranger probably wouldn't follow through on his death threat.

Luke acted quickly, so that he wouldn't have a chance to talk himself out of it. He yanked the lid off of his coffee, and in one swift motion brought his hand back over his shoulder, dashing the hot liquid into the stranger's face. He heard the man's howl of pain, but didn't wait to see how bad it was - he took off running.

The man had his cell phone, but he wasn't completely _helpless_ without it. Luke was a mere six strides away from the man before he hit the panic button on his watch, just in case he couldn't evade him. He looked around wildly as he sprinted across the garage, hoping, praying someone else was around. Gunman had walked him _past_ his own car, and he couldn't risk back-tracking now. His only thought was to find another living, breathing human being, or to just escape out of the garage entirely.

As he rounded a turn to continue down the level, a dark blue mini van suddenly pulled up directly in his path. His first thought was of relief, as he ran over to the driver's side window. It opened to reveal a dark haired gentleman with a goatee and an easy smile. "Can I help you?" The man asked.

"Yeah, ther-there's someone chasing me." Luke got out breathlessly.

"I _know_." The man said almost sympathetically. "It would have been _so_ much easier if you'd just gone along with him."

Luke fell back a few paces as van doors came open, and four more guns were extended toward him.

"Oh. You're together." He muttered. "That _figures_."


End file.
